Revised May 29, 2010
Updated June, 2012
It's astounding that Michael Ignatieff is being treated the way he is, when you look at all he has to offer.
In our society, continuity is seen as normal, and better than discontinuity or separation. The lengthy, continuous career is looked upon as a model for a good work history, while travelling and working in diverse occupations, and in more than one country, can be viewed as a sign of flightiness. In reality, this kind of life can make a person 'more of a Canadian,' (a term attributed to Ignatieff in recent news articles, and not kindly eg ‘Michael Ignatieff thinks,’ 2010), more understanding of different ways of living and working, more able to stand back and look at the entire picture, but it can be detrimental when one comes to trying for a new career in a country that doesn't understand this. Ignatieff was probably right when he said the Conservatives were "provincial" in their thinking - the Conservatives and many Canadians (Michael Ignatieff accuses Conservatives, 2010).
After all Ignatieff has done in his life - teaching, journalism, writing books, serving as professor at universities, he is sometimes criticized for not doing anything substantial, for not showing Canadians what he is all about. But isn't what it's all about is having the "trust and confidence" of the people, and "vision for Canada," as this article claims? Could the problem, in part, be the people working for the Liberals. See this, from the article, apparently a comment by "one senior insider" : “Ignatieff hasn’t unveiled any substance yet and until he does, he can’t move anywhere" (The pressure is on Ignatieff, 2010).
So now we're back to having to have something of substance to convince the people of Canada that Ignatieff would make a good leader, not just knowing that he is able to think, write, do the work, act with determination, and do all the things a leader must be able to do. He actually has to show proof, and not proof gained while working in other countries for non party-political jobs.
To say it's up to Ignatieff to stop the freefall, if that's what it is, is unfair (The pressure is on Ignatieff, 2010). According to this article, "Mr. Ignatieff has already fired one group of top advisors yet his poll numbers are still dropping." He must wonder what is going on too.
He may be the best thing to happen for the Liberals, and our country, but if people can't change their perspective on his travels out of Canada and return to it, and all the qualities he has proven (though not to us), he may not ever get the chance to be PM.
Ignatieff is not only being blamed for the Liberal freefall, he's the one being forced to take responsibility for stopping it. I think that's not so. It's got to come from the people themselves. If, when one is absent, one takes the time to look at what is going on in Canada, one might see things about it that are truly disquieting. and so, I'm not sure this would make one a "better Canadian" (as Rex Murphy claims Ignatieff said), when being a good Canadian often seems to mean keeping quiet about the norms of our society and the injustices committed here.
In his May 29th column, Rex Murphy becomes rhetorical, saying, "We learn our country by living in it, by absorbing the flow of its events, by acquiring an emotional as well as an intellectual grasp of its rhythms and moods. We inhabit this country, and it returns the favour: It inhabits us" (Michael Ignatieff’s out-of-country, 2010).
In reality, the ideas expressed in this sentence are nonsense. Being that close to a country or a person can make us take its qualities for granted, so much so that people are often advised to take a break from it - a vacation or a separation, to reflect and enable rational thoughts to emerge, where once feelings guided all decisions. No one can know the entire country, or all its people. We all live in our own little worlds, sometimes of our own making, sometimes not. We latch onto pieces of it that we recognize as being 'ours', as Canadian. But most importantly, it is the leaving that enables a person to get a better picture of what is going on - and the returning that holds the promise of something better for the country.
Ignatieff's absence is no obstacle to his ability to do well at the job of PM. In fact, I know that staying away will have given him so much more. Besides having been able to look upon Canada from a distance, he has now undergone critique by his fellow Canadians, who seem unable to grasp the significance of his time abroad. I have said before that leaving and then returning does leave one out-of-touch with prices, and changes in laws, but a read-up of these is usually enough. Does one ever forget how to ride a bike?
Rex asks, "There is an essence to this country. What we have in common, the core, is that which enables the embrace of diversity in the first place. Mr. Ignatieff may understand some of this, but does he feel it? Does he perceive the strength and depth of the common endeavour which has been and is this country since its founding? "
Perhaps not, Rex. I don't feel it. Perhaps it takes something from one's countrymen, after having spent time away, before one can feel it again. Perhaps one does have to take some time going through the motions before people start to see how unjust their behaviour and criticism is.
Added June 2012
In ‘Beyond Workaday Worlds’ (2005) I draw on the work of Mary Catherine Bateson, who wrote:
“continuity is the exception in twentieth-century America, and that adjusting to discontinuity is not an idiosyncratic problem of my own but the emerging problem of our era...In may ways, constancy is an illusion” (Composing a life, 1989).
As I state in that essay under the subtitle Unity, Continuity, and Contradictions, “her aim was to make sense of interrupted and discontinuous lives of the “composite life,” illustrating the importance of responding to change and learning to adapt (p 7). To illustrate what I had discovered about work and about such concepts as continuity, as they apply to real life, I incorporated aspects from life stories of five individuals I had written following interviews and research.
More often than not, in the past, it was men who had the careers that established continuity for them, thus a form of respectability and earned trust, I imagine. In the fairly recent past, it was more often women whose careers lacked that kind of continuity, and not just over childbearing. In some ways, it seems as though this is what’s bothering some people about Michael Ignatieff, that he didn’t have a long continuous career, or keep his focus on politically-oriented positions, instead branching out to academia and tv broadcasting, for instance, thus must have the ‘stability’ factor lacking in his character, I believe they must think.
If so many really are against Ignatieff, then it may be that they hold old-fashioned ideas about work, as well as about what it means to be a Canadian. For his own thoughts on this, see the 2011 article ‘My name is Michael Ignatieff, and I am Canadian.’ As for Rex Murphy’s question, “Does he perceive the strength and depth of the common endeavour which has been and is this country since its founding?,” this is not the way our country is going. The common endeavor has been lost, as people with diverse backgrounds and goals vie for their own place in society and to have their own culture recognized. What chance is there of having that unity back now that Ignatieff has left? See Adrienne Redd’s informed perspective that acts as counterpoint to all those who have expressed doubts about Ignatieff’s ability (Ignatieff, the Best Prime Minister, 2011).
There is no 'essence' to this country, and demanding that a PM encompass traditional values of work and continuity, rather than travelling and working abroad at more than one occupation places a stifling limitation on what a prime minister can or should project to the people.
Michael Ignatieff is currently teaching at the University of Toronto.
Beyond Workaday Worlds: Aging, Identity, and the Life Cycle
By Sue McPherson
SAMcPherson.homestead.com
2005
http://samcpherson.homestead.com/files/EssaysandWriting/BeyondWorkadayWorldsSMcPherson.doc
Composing a Life
By Mary Catherine Bateson
New York: Plume.
1989
Ignatieff, the Best Prime Minister Canada Will Never Have
By Adrienne Redd
TheTyee.ca
May 7, 2011
http://thetyee.ca/Opinion/2011/05/07/Ignatieff/
Michael Ignatieff accuses Conservatives of “divide in order to rule” politics
By Linda Diebel
Toronto Star
May 18, 2010
http://www.thestar.com/news/canada/article/810818--michael-ignatieff-accuses-conservatives-of-divide-in-order-to-rule-politics
Michael Ignatieff thinks he's more Canadian than you are
By Matt Gurney
May 18, 2010
National Post
http://network.nationalpost.com/NP/blogs/fullcomment/archive/2010/05/18/matt-gurney-untitled-ignatieff.aspx
Michael Ignatieff’s out-of-country experience
By Rex Murphy
May 29, 2010
National Post
http://fullcomment.nationalpost.com/2010/05/29/michael-ignatieffs-out-of-country-experience
My name is Michael Ignatieff, and I am Canadian
By Michael Ignatieff
Globe and Mail
June 29, 2011
http://m.theglobeandmail.com/news/national/time-to-lead/my-name-is-michael-ignatieff-and-i-am-canadian/article2079267/?service=mobile
The pressure is on Ignatieff to stop Liberal freefall
By John Ivison
National Post, Full comment
May 20, 2010
http://fullcomment.nationalpost.com/2010/05/20/the-pressure-is-on-ignatieff-to-stop-liberal-freefall/
http://network.nationalpost.com/NP/blogs/fullcomment/archive/2010/05/20/john-ivison-the-pressure-is-on-ignatieff-to-stop-liberal-freefall.aspx
http://www.nanosresearch.com/news/in_the_news/National%20Post%20May%2020%202010.pdf
Links updated June, 2012
28 April 2010
Compulsory heterosexuality, sex education in schools, and multisexualism
Sex is political, not just pleasure-driven, the idea of 'compulsory heterosexuality' being the foremost lifestyle on which our society hinges. What everyone is required to do, regardless of their sexuality, is to reinforce the compulsory cultural norm of heterosexuality, at home, work, and school, and at volunteer activities.
Pressure is put on young men and women to conform or if not, to uphold the one accepted major sexual lifestyle in our society in the 21st century - heterosexuality. Even lesbians have to abide by the desires of straight men, and find a way of living in this world alongside them; not so difficult for gay men, whose brains, and the location of them, aren't so far off that of straight men.
Is it possible for society to raise respectful men and women, when so much hinges on their support for an ideology that places at its centre not just the old stand-by 'family,' but the ideals of 'pleasure' and 'work'? Heterosexuality has little to do with respect. Rewarding those who conform to or uphold heterosexual demands leads only to a false respect. It's about power and subordination, rather than co-operation and respect for one's own body and the choices of others. Men's desire for sex, and women's for a career or the chance to do their life's work, seem to involve the necessity to 'fake it', each in their own way, as their agendas collide.Barbara Kay argues in her recent article that 'multisexualism' refers to the idea that "all sexual behaviours and lifestyles are of equal social worth, except those that refuse to detach morality from sexuality." This has been the way sex education has been presented in schools, as something matter-of-fact, instead of sexuality being recognized as value-laden and deeply personal (at least for some). Time for change!
What is needed, rather than a school curriculum about sexual practices, is for boys and girls to become aware from an early stage how our society indoctrinates them into becoming men or women. Instead of sex classes, an emphasis on masculinity and femininity in the social context of life could be a valuable addition to the school curriculum. Teaching 'sex and gender' classes at an earlier age would give young people the resources they need to examine the social situations they find themselves in as they grow older, and possibly make more informed choices.
And then there's the argument that heterosexuality is normal, that it's how our civilized society has evolved, that there's nothing 'compulsory' about it. But surely female animals don't always want sex with the males but do have to coerced, sometimes. Do the males just have to line up, or do they have to preen and display their maleness to attract the females.
Girls no longer have to wait for estrus, as their female animal counterparts have to, but that doesn't mean they want it all the time. Heterosexuality is fine, as a lifestyle, or a cultural norm. But it's through women having to look sexually attractive, having to do sex in order to be 'real' women, or though being coerced or having to put up with men's unwanted advances as well as putting up with women's acts of persuasion,' that the term 'compulsory' takes its meaning.
The original mention of the new sex education curriculum mentioned sexual orientation and gender identity. Could it be these terms that scared parents, the public schools, and the Catholic schools) off just as much as the mention of anal sex? It looks as though most parents just want their kids to know the basics, but not have any further understanding of their own sexuality.
Added June, 2012
It looks like things are changing rather quickly. Note links to 5 additional articles added - Anti-bullying bill a front (2011); Anti-bullying bill passes (2012); Birds, bees and poisonous rhetoric (2011); Hudak says McGuinty keeps parents in dark (2011); Sex-ed game featuring penis-armed 'Sperminator' (2012).
Anti-bullying bill a front for ‘sex ed’ agenda, groups say
By Tanya Talaga Queen's Park Bureau
The Star
Dec 6, 2011
http://www.thestar.com/news/canada/politics/article/1097682--anti-bullying-bill-a-front-for-sex-ed-agenda-groups-say
Anti-bullying bill passes final reading
The Canadian Press
The Record
Jun 6, 2012
http://www.therecord.com/news/local/article/737846--anti-bullying-bill-passes-final-reading
Birds, bees and poisonous rhetoric on sex ed in Ontario
By Emma Teitel
Oct 25, 2011
http://www2.macleans.ca/2011/10/25/birds-bees-and-poisonous-rhetoric/
The cult of multisexualism
By Barbara Kay
National Post
Apr 28, 2010 http://network.nationalpost.com/NP/blogs/fullcomment/archive/2010/04/28/barbara-kay-the-cult-of-multisexualism.aspx link not working
http://fullcomment.nationalpost.com/2010/04/28/barbara-kay-the-cult-of-multisexualism/
Hudak says McGuinty keeps parents in dark on sex-ed curriculum
By Keith Leslie, The Canadian Press
Global Toronto News and The Canadian Times
Sept 23, 2011
http://www.globaltoronto.com/hudak+says+mcguinty+keeps+parents+in+dark+on+sex-ed+curriculum/6442488232/story.html
http://www.canadiantimes.ca/CMS/index.php/word-tv/77-news-news/830-hudak-says-mcguinty-keeps-parents-in-dark-on-sex-ed-curriculum
McGuinty says he was in the dark about sex-ed plan
By Karen Howlett Toronto — Globe and Mail Update
Published on Wednesday, Apr. 28, 2010
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/national/ontario/mcguinty-says-he-was-in-the-dark-about-sex-ed-plan/article1549547/
http://samcpherson.homestead.com/files/Miscellaneous/2010_Apr_McGuintyInDarkAboutSex.doc
McGuinty’s sex-ed surrender
TO Star
Apr 29, 2010
http://www.thestar.com/opinion/letters/article/802560--mcguinty-s-sex-ed-surrender
Ontario premier defends sex-ed curriculum
By Linda Nguyen, Canwest News Service
National Post
Apr 20, 2010
http://www.nationalpost.com/news/story.html?id=2930506
http://www.globaltvbc.com/ontario+premier+defends+sex-ed+curriculum/74305/story.html
Sex-ed game featuring penis-armed 'Sperminator' sparks controversy
By Jonathan Sher, QMI Agency
Toronto Sun
Jan 20, 2012
http://www.torontosun.com/2012/01/20/sex-ed-game-featuring-penis-armed-sperminator-sparks-controversy
Links updated June 2012
Pressure is put on young men and women to conform or if not, to uphold the one accepted major sexual lifestyle in our society in the 21st century - heterosexuality. Even lesbians have to abide by the desires of straight men, and find a way of living in this world alongside them; not so difficult for gay men, whose brains, and the location of them, aren't so far off that of straight men.
Is it possible for society to raise respectful men and women, when so much hinges on their support for an ideology that places at its centre not just the old stand-by 'family,' but the ideals of 'pleasure' and 'work'? Heterosexuality has little to do with respect. Rewarding those who conform to or uphold heterosexual demands leads only to a false respect. It's about power and subordination, rather than co-operation and respect for one's own body and the choices of others. Men's desire for sex, and women's for a career or the chance to do their life's work, seem to involve the necessity to 'fake it', each in their own way, as their agendas collide.Barbara Kay argues in her recent article that 'multisexualism' refers to the idea that "all sexual behaviours and lifestyles are of equal social worth, except those that refuse to detach morality from sexuality." This has been the way sex education has been presented in schools, as something matter-of-fact, instead of sexuality being recognized as value-laden and deeply personal (at least for some). Time for change!
What is needed, rather than a school curriculum about sexual practices, is for boys and girls to become aware from an early stage how our society indoctrinates them into becoming men or women. Instead of sex classes, an emphasis on masculinity and femininity in the social context of life could be a valuable addition to the school curriculum. Teaching 'sex and gender' classes at an earlier age would give young people the resources they need to examine the social situations they find themselves in as they grow older, and possibly make more informed choices.
And then there's the argument that heterosexuality is normal, that it's how our civilized society has evolved, that there's nothing 'compulsory' about it. But surely female animals don't always want sex with the males but do have to coerced, sometimes. Do the males just have to line up, or do they have to preen and display their maleness to attract the females.
Girls no longer have to wait for estrus, as their female animal counterparts have to, but that doesn't mean they want it all the time. Heterosexuality is fine, as a lifestyle, or a cultural norm. But it's through women having to look sexually attractive, having to do sex in order to be 'real' women, or though being coerced or having to put up with men's unwanted advances as well as putting up with women's acts of persuasion,' that the term 'compulsory' takes its meaning.
The original mention of the new sex education curriculum mentioned sexual orientation and gender identity. Could it be these terms that scared parents, the public schools, and the Catholic schools) off just as much as the mention of anal sex? It looks as though most parents just want their kids to know the basics, but not have any further understanding of their own sexuality.
Added June, 2012
It looks like things are changing rather quickly. Note links to 5 additional articles added - Anti-bullying bill a front (2011); Anti-bullying bill passes (2012); Birds, bees and poisonous rhetoric (2011); Hudak says McGuinty keeps parents in dark (2011); Sex-ed game featuring penis-armed 'Sperminator' (2012).
Anti-bullying bill a front for ‘sex ed’ agenda, groups say
By Tanya Talaga Queen's Park Bureau
The Star
Dec 6, 2011
http://www.thestar.com/news/canada/politics/article/1097682--anti-bullying-bill-a-front-for-sex-ed-agenda-groups-say
Anti-bullying bill passes final reading
The Canadian Press
The Record
Jun 6, 2012
http://www.therecord.com/news/local/article/737846--anti-bullying-bill-passes-final-reading
Birds, bees and poisonous rhetoric on sex ed in Ontario
By Emma Teitel
Oct 25, 2011
http://www2.macleans.ca/2011/10/25/birds-bees-and-poisonous-rhetoric/
The cult of multisexualism
By Barbara Kay
National Post
Apr 28, 2010 http://network.nationalpost.com/NP/blogs/fullcomment/archive/2010/04/28/barbara-kay-the-cult-of-multisexualism.aspx link not working
http://fullcomment.nationalpost.com/2010/04/28/barbara-kay-the-cult-of-multisexualism/
Hudak says McGuinty keeps parents in dark on sex-ed curriculum
By Keith Leslie, The Canadian Press
Global Toronto News and The Canadian Times
Sept 23, 2011
http://www.globaltoronto.com/hudak+says+mcguinty+keeps+parents+in+dark+on+sex-ed+curriculum/6442488232/story.html
http://www.canadiantimes.ca/CMS/index.php/word-tv/77-news-news/830-hudak-says-mcguinty-keeps-parents-in-dark-on-sex-ed-curriculum
McGuinty says he was in the dark about sex-ed plan
By Karen Howlett Toronto — Globe and Mail Update
Published on Wednesday, Apr. 28, 2010
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/national/ontario/mcguinty-says-he-was-in-the-dark-about-sex-ed-plan/article1549547/
http://samcpherson.homestead.com/files/Miscellaneous/2010_Apr_McGuintyInDarkAboutSex.doc
McGuinty’s sex-ed surrender
TO Star
Apr 29, 2010
http://www.thestar.com/opinion/letters/article/802560--mcguinty-s-sex-ed-surrender
Ontario premier defends sex-ed curriculum
By Linda Nguyen, Canwest News Service
National Post
Apr 20, 2010
http://www.nationalpost.com/news/story.html?id=2930506
http://www.globaltvbc.com/ontario+premier+defends+sex-ed+curriculum/74305/story.html
Sex-ed game featuring penis-armed 'Sperminator' sparks controversy
By Jonathan Sher, QMI Agency
Toronto Sun
Jan 20, 2012
http://www.torontosun.com/2012/01/20/sex-ed-game-featuring-penis-armed-sperminator-sparks-controversy
Links updated June 2012
26 March 2010
Project Hero: Free university tuition for children of deceased soldiers
Revised June, 2012
A new policy, begun in 2009 by Retired General Rick Hillier and Honorary Lt. Colonel Kevin Reed, provides scholarships to children of soldiers who have died while in service. Project Hero has been introduced at several colleges and universities across Canada. Some professors at the University of Regina have objected to the program, however, claiming that the program glorifies military action, as does the name itself - Project Hero, and would rather their university had no part in it.
The program appears to be a tuition waiver, with grants for books and tuition presumably supplied by the Canadian Hero Fund. It looks as though the Canadian Hero Fund originally provided the funds for such endeavors, including spouses of the deceased soldiers being eligible as well as their children. Being so closely associated with the universities puts a different slant on the program, however. If the universities voluntarily waive the tuition fees, they will give the impression of taking sides, despite what the universities say.
“Our decision to do this was not at all meant to suggest endorsement of or lack of endorsement of something such as military action. It is purely to support the education pursuits of those for whom it might have been challenging to access post secondary,” said Barb Pollock, spokeswoman for the University of Regina. (Globe and Mail, Mar 26, 2010). But of course it is an endorsement! If they provided free tuition to white supremacists, wouldn't people notice, and wonder? Do we really want our universities to set objectivity aside and become politically associated with this side or that?
It's understandable that the University of Regina would sign up to the program without giving it much thought. They could see how other respected universities had agreed to the program, and at face value, it must have seemed like a good idea. It's just too bad that experts in the field weren't asked for their opinion first, before this step was taken.
The title given to the project is another issue. The old-fashioned idea, especially among military personnel, might well be to think of war and death in war as heroic, but our aim should be, and I thought was starting to be, to perceive war as a necessity, and being a soldier as a career, not mainly as a noble way to die, a means to becoming a hero.
The children and spouses of our fallen soldiers will be provided for, by programs initiated by the military or former military personnel, with ways of donating made easily accessible through the internet. It is not a rejection of the men who served in the military, or of their children, to turn down this request to join Project Hero. But it will be maintaining the purpose of universities, to turn down such a request. Universities should stay away from being seen to take sides, even if that is not their intention. They should avoid stepping into controversy by appearing to take sides.
It is difficult to turn down requests to assist children, the innocent victims of war. But doing so, in this manner, can lead to the kind of society we would rather not have. "Setting up the military as something special leads to a militaristic society" says Art Campbell, retired Wing Commander (see comments following Adrian MacNair blog). He also does not want to see the spouses of deceased soldiers being left out, with diminishing pensions to support them as they grow old.
The emphasis in society is always on youth - children and youth. In February this year, John Babcock died, at the age of 109. He was the last known survivor of WWI, and there was a call for a state funeral to be held for him. He wasn't a hero, in the traditional sense, and he didn't see himself as one, so he declined the offer, previously made to him. Links to four articles about his death are included below - Canada’s last World War I vet, The enduring legacy of an old soldier; How inconvenient the veterans' wishes; and John Babcock's passing. Check for comments by readers about the significance of his life and death. I wouldn't want to see the focus of 'remembering' to be mainly about money - about scholarships to university for the children of soldiers who died.
Added June, 2012
In one of the articles, the words of one veteran are included - a grandfather, Jeffrey Scott Walsh, “who considered the Hero Project a ‘gift’ that the ‘university’s initiated.” He says, “I don’t think it was the families who asked for this help . . . But it’s not fair to students who need financial help and don’t have soldiers in their families.” (Professors slam scholarships, 2010).
Not only that, but the soldiers whose families are being helped through such scholarships are not ones who made it through and returned alive. Only the children of deceased soldiers are eligible. As the daughter of a veteran of WW II, who did return from the war alive and healthy, my experience tells me that financial situations of soldiers and their families don’t automatically improve just because dad comes home. In fact, that is one of the reasons my family emigrated to Canada in 1957, because good jobs were not always easy to find in England after the war.
Besides that, singling out particular groups of individuals to receive assistance is a political gesture, as comments in the National Post articles suggested, though unfortunately, the National Post presumably deletes its comments section of each article soon afterwards, leaving only the article itself available to be read.
The death of John Babcock was symbolic of the sacrifice that soldiers have often been ready to make, for their families and country. Even though he never went to war, he was the last remaining WW I soldier from Canada. He was made a hero of sorts, against his will, but one doesn’t have to die to be a hero. He became a celebrity, but not of his own making. His longevity – and being part of a particular historical period in history now gone forever – has made him someone to remember.
Blood of Heroes Blogspot
http://blood-o-heroes.blogspot.com/2008/04/rick-hillier-man-myth-legend.html
Canada’s last World War I vet, John Babcock, dies
By Nicolaas van Rijn Staff Reporter
Toronto Star
Feb 19, 2010
http://www.thestar.com/news/gta/article/767925--canada-s-last-world-war-i-vet-john-babcock-dies
Canadian Hero Fund: keeping their dreams alive
http://www.herofund.ca/
Criticism of scholarships for children of fallen soldiers draws sharp rebuke
By Jennifer Graham
Globe and Mail (Regina — The Canadian Press)
Mar 26, 2010
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/national/criticism-of-scholarships-for-children-of-fallen-soldiers-draws-sharp-rebuke/article1512784/
http://www.globecampus.ca/in-the-news/article/criticism-of-scholarships-for-children-of-fallen-soldiers-draws-sharp-rebuke/
The enduring legacy of an old soldier : He survived!
By J.L. Granatstein
Montreal Gazette
Feb 24, 2010 http://www.montrealgazette.com/opinion/enduring+legacy+soldier+survived/2604717/story.html
How inconvenient the veterans' wishes are to our mythology
By Noah Richler
Globe and Mail
Feb 23, 2010
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/opinions/how-inconvenient-the-veterans-wishes-are-to-our-mythology/article1478845 /
Ignorance on display at the University of Regina
By Adrian MacNair
Full Comment, National Post
Mar 25, 2010
http://network.nationalpost.com/NP/blogs/fullcomment/archive/2010/03/25/adrian-macnair-ignorance-on-display-at-the-university-of-regina.aspx
http://fullcomment.nationalpost.com/2010/03/25/adrian-macnair-ignorance-on-display-at-the-university-of-regina/
John Babcock's passing
By Wilfred Edmond
Special to The Windsor Star
Mar 18, 2010
http://www.windsorstar.com/opinion/reader-comments/Gallery+Remembering+John+Babcock/2583336/John+Babcock+passing/2695738/story.html
http://www2.canada.com/windsorstar/news/editorial/story.html?id=79a811ee-cc9e-4de6-aca4-89a2ecc1c23e
McGill Scholarships
http://www.projecthero.ca/
McGill Scholarships
McGill University
http://www.mcgill.ca/studentaid/projecthero/http://www.mcgill.ca/studentaid/projecthero/
Professors slam scholarships for children of dead soldiers
By Josh Campbell
National Post
Mar 25, 2010
http://www.nationalpost.com/news/story.html?id=2722557
http://www.globaltvbc.com/professors+slam+scholarships+children+dead+soldiers/2725039/story.html
Project Hero: Gifting Education to children of our fallen soldiers
http://www.projecthero.ca/
Sask. premier disappointed by Project Hero critics
CBC News
Mar 25, 2010
http://www.cbc.ca/canada/saskatchewan/story/2010/03/25/sk-wall-scholarship-1003.html
The University of Ottawa offers free tuition for children of Canadian military parents killed in action
University of Ottawa
June 30, 2009
http://www.media.uottawa.ca/mediaroom/news-details_1709.html
Links updated June, 2012
A new policy, begun in 2009 by Retired General Rick Hillier and Honorary Lt. Colonel Kevin Reed, provides scholarships to children of soldiers who have died while in service. Project Hero has been introduced at several colleges and universities across Canada. Some professors at the University of Regina have objected to the program, however, claiming that the program glorifies military action, as does the name itself - Project Hero, and would rather their university had no part in it.
The program appears to be a tuition waiver, with grants for books and tuition presumably supplied by the Canadian Hero Fund. It looks as though the Canadian Hero Fund originally provided the funds for such endeavors, including spouses of the deceased soldiers being eligible as well as their children. Being so closely associated with the universities puts a different slant on the program, however. If the universities voluntarily waive the tuition fees, they will give the impression of taking sides, despite what the universities say.
“Our decision to do this was not at all meant to suggest endorsement of or lack of endorsement of something such as military action. It is purely to support the education pursuits of those for whom it might have been challenging to access post secondary,” said Barb Pollock, spokeswoman for the University of Regina. (Globe and Mail, Mar 26, 2010). But of course it is an endorsement! If they provided free tuition to white supremacists, wouldn't people notice, and wonder? Do we really want our universities to set objectivity aside and become politically associated with this side or that?
It's understandable that the University of Regina would sign up to the program without giving it much thought. They could see how other respected universities had agreed to the program, and at face value, it must have seemed like a good idea. It's just too bad that experts in the field weren't asked for their opinion first, before this step was taken.
The title given to the project is another issue. The old-fashioned idea, especially among military personnel, might well be to think of war and death in war as heroic, but our aim should be, and I thought was starting to be, to perceive war as a necessity, and being a soldier as a career, not mainly as a noble way to die, a means to becoming a hero.
The children and spouses of our fallen soldiers will be provided for, by programs initiated by the military or former military personnel, with ways of donating made easily accessible through the internet. It is not a rejection of the men who served in the military, or of their children, to turn down this request to join Project Hero. But it will be maintaining the purpose of universities, to turn down such a request. Universities should stay away from being seen to take sides, even if that is not their intention. They should avoid stepping into controversy by appearing to take sides.
It is difficult to turn down requests to assist children, the innocent victims of war. But doing so, in this manner, can lead to the kind of society we would rather not have. "Setting up the military as something special leads to a militaristic society" says Art Campbell, retired Wing Commander (see comments following Adrian MacNair blog). He also does not want to see the spouses of deceased soldiers being left out, with diminishing pensions to support them as they grow old.
The emphasis in society is always on youth - children and youth. In February this year, John Babcock died, at the age of 109. He was the last known survivor of WWI, and there was a call for a state funeral to be held for him. He wasn't a hero, in the traditional sense, and he didn't see himself as one, so he declined the offer, previously made to him. Links to four articles about his death are included below - Canada’s last World War I vet, The enduring legacy of an old soldier; How inconvenient the veterans' wishes; and John Babcock's passing. Check for comments by readers about the significance of his life and death. I wouldn't want to see the focus of 'remembering' to be mainly about money - about scholarships to university for the children of soldiers who died.
Added June, 2012
In one of the articles, the words of one veteran are included - a grandfather, Jeffrey Scott Walsh, “who considered the Hero Project a ‘gift’ that the ‘university’s initiated.” He says, “I don’t think it was the families who asked for this help . . . But it’s not fair to students who need financial help and don’t have soldiers in their families.” (Professors slam scholarships, 2010).
Not only that, but the soldiers whose families are being helped through such scholarships are not ones who made it through and returned alive. Only the children of deceased soldiers are eligible. As the daughter of a veteran of WW II, who did return from the war alive and healthy, my experience tells me that financial situations of soldiers and their families don’t automatically improve just because dad comes home. In fact, that is one of the reasons my family emigrated to Canada in 1957, because good jobs were not always easy to find in England after the war.
Besides that, singling out particular groups of individuals to receive assistance is a political gesture, as comments in the National Post articles suggested, though unfortunately, the National Post presumably deletes its comments section of each article soon afterwards, leaving only the article itself available to be read.
The death of John Babcock was symbolic of the sacrifice that soldiers have often been ready to make, for their families and country. Even though he never went to war, he was the last remaining WW I soldier from Canada. He was made a hero of sorts, against his will, but one doesn’t have to die to be a hero. He became a celebrity, but not of his own making. His longevity – and being part of a particular historical period in history now gone forever – has made him someone to remember.
Blood of Heroes Blogspot
http://blood-o-heroes.blogspot.com/2008/04/rick-hillier-man-myth-legend.html
Canada’s last World War I vet, John Babcock, dies
By Nicolaas van Rijn Staff Reporter
Toronto Star
Feb 19, 2010
http://www.thestar.com/news/gta/article/767925--canada-s-last-world-war-i-vet-john-babcock-dies
Canadian Hero Fund: keeping their dreams alive
http://www.herofund.ca/
Criticism of scholarships for children of fallen soldiers draws sharp rebuke
By Jennifer Graham
Globe and Mail (Regina — The Canadian Press)
Mar 26, 2010
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/national/criticism-of-scholarships-for-children-of-fallen-soldiers-draws-sharp-rebuke/article1512784/
http://www.globecampus.ca/in-the-news/article/criticism-of-scholarships-for-children-of-fallen-soldiers-draws-sharp-rebuke/
The enduring legacy of an old soldier : He survived!
By J.L. Granatstein
Montreal Gazette
Feb 24, 2010 http://www.montrealgazette.com/opinion/enduring+legacy+soldier+survived/2604717/story.html
How inconvenient the veterans' wishes are to our mythology
By Noah Richler
Globe and Mail
Feb 23, 2010
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/opinions/how-inconvenient-the-veterans-wishes-are-to-our-mythology/article1478845 /
Ignorance on display at the University of Regina
By Adrian MacNair
Full Comment, National Post
Mar 25, 2010
http://network.nationalpost.com/NP/blogs/fullcomment/archive/2010/03/25/adrian-macnair-ignorance-on-display-at-the-university-of-regina.aspx
http://fullcomment.nationalpost.com/2010/03/25/adrian-macnair-ignorance-on-display-at-the-university-of-regina/
John Babcock's passing
By Wilfred Edmond
Special to The Windsor Star
Mar 18, 2010
http://www.windsorstar.com/opinion/reader-comments/Gallery+Remembering+John+Babcock/2583336/John+Babcock+passing/2695738/story.html
http://www2.canada.com/windsorstar/news/editorial/story.html?id=79a811ee-cc9e-4de6-aca4-89a2ecc1c23e
McGill Scholarships
http://www.projecthero.ca/
McGill Scholarships
McGill University
http://www.mcgill.ca/studentaid/projecthero/http://www.mcgill.ca/studentaid/projecthero/
Professors slam scholarships for children of dead soldiers
By Josh Campbell
National Post
Mar 25, 2010
http://www.nationalpost.com/news/story.html?id=2722557
http://www.globaltvbc.com/professors+slam+scholarships+children+dead+soldiers/2725039/story.html
Project Hero: Gifting Education to children of our fallen soldiers
http://www.projecthero.ca/
Sask. premier disappointed by Project Hero critics
CBC News
Mar 25, 2010
http://www.cbc.ca/canada/saskatchewan/story/2010/03/25/sk-wall-scholarship-1003.html
The University of Ottawa offers free tuition for children of Canadian military parents killed in action
University of Ottawa
June 30, 2009
http://www.media.uottawa.ca/mediaroom/news-details_1709.html
Links updated June, 2012
16 March 2010
Dutch man sees it his right to have nurses serve his sexual needs
I can't help wondering why we don't see similar articles about this kind of thing, in Canada. Surely it's not only the Netherlands that have had this sort of problem. A disabled man apparently expected one of his nurses to provide sexual relief. The nurse had noticed other nurses doing so but refused as she did not see it as part of her job. It must be difficult to be disabled and male, but was this the best response, for him to try and get her fired from her job? It's hard to believe that the man felt so strongly that this was his right. Hasn't our society progressed at all?
The nurse took her complaint to the nurses union. The result was a campaign called “I Draw The Line Here." The union also reported the case to the police, according to an article in the Toronto Star.
As usual, I left my comments online, at the Globe and Mail article. There were a lot of nonsense comments, and a lot from men who seemed to have the same attitude as the Dutch man. Not a lot of analysis, otherwise. I shall include an excerpt of what I wrote, and would welcome comments from readers with their own perspectives.
" . . . what you will find is that some women are catering to the needs of the men who ask/expect/pay for it. There are some women in every workplace who have no problem doing this kind of work. And they probably have no trouble finding work in their area when they want it, just as you say - health care workers too, who provide sexual relief for men. I would think that any woman who gets that close to the physical aspect of caring for male patients - such as massage therapy, too - might get more advances that women who don't work in such areas.
If these male patients are requesting sexual relief from female workers, I wouldn't be surprised if they aren't asking it from female patients too, or anybody they can get away with asking. That is traditional behaviour for men, after all. Just ask women. What is problematic, and what this article is getting at, is that women shouldn't be expected to do this kind of work. Men shouldn't expect that all women are keen on serving them sexually. Or even reluctantly. Some women would rather not at all.
We do realize that men like sex so much that women's ability to get work could depend on her willingness to comply. This is one of the greatest problems in the world of all time. The fact that we have access to contraception in the west helps, but it doesn't help those women who do not wish to serve men in this way, or who cannot, or who want to but won't for whatever reasons."
Dutch man tried to fire nurse who wouldn’t provide sex
Globe and Mail - Amsterdam — Reuters
Mar 11, 2010
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/world/dutch-man-tried-to-fire-nurse-who-wouldnt-provide-sex/article1497574/
http://samcpherson.homestead.com/files/Miscellaneous/2010_Mar_DutchManTriedFireNurse.doc
Dutch nurses say `no' to sexual healing
Toronto Star - Amsterdam — Reuters
Mar 12, 2010
http://www.thestar.com/living/article/778650--dutch-nurses-say-no-to-sexual-healing
Links updated June, 2012
The nurse took her complaint to the nurses union. The result was a campaign called “I Draw The Line Here." The union also reported the case to the police, according to an article in the Toronto Star.
As usual, I left my comments online, at the Globe and Mail article. There were a lot of nonsense comments, and a lot from men who seemed to have the same attitude as the Dutch man. Not a lot of analysis, otherwise. I shall include an excerpt of what I wrote, and would welcome comments from readers with their own perspectives.
" . . . what you will find is that some women are catering to the needs of the men who ask/expect/pay for it. There are some women in every workplace who have no problem doing this kind of work. And they probably have no trouble finding work in their area when they want it, just as you say - health care workers too, who provide sexual relief for men. I would think that any woman who gets that close to the physical aspect of caring for male patients - such as massage therapy, too - might get more advances that women who don't work in such areas.
If these male patients are requesting sexual relief from female workers, I wouldn't be surprised if they aren't asking it from female patients too, or anybody they can get away with asking. That is traditional behaviour for men, after all. Just ask women. What is problematic, and what this article is getting at, is that women shouldn't be expected to do this kind of work. Men shouldn't expect that all women are keen on serving them sexually. Or even reluctantly. Some women would rather not at all.
We do realize that men like sex so much that women's ability to get work could depend on her willingness to comply. This is one of the greatest problems in the world of all time. The fact that we have access to contraception in the west helps, but it doesn't help those women who do not wish to serve men in this way, or who cannot, or who want to but won't for whatever reasons."
Dutch man tried to fire nurse who wouldn’t provide sex
Globe and Mail - Amsterdam — Reuters
Mar 11, 2010
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/world/dutch-man-tried-to-fire-nurse-who-wouldnt-provide-sex/article1497574/
http://samcpherson.homestead.com/files/Miscellaneous/2010_Mar_DutchManTriedFireNurse.doc
Dutch nurses say `no' to sexual healing
Toronto Star - Amsterdam — Reuters
Mar 12, 2010
http://www.thestar.com/living/article/778650--dutch-nurses-say-no-to-sexual-healing
Links updated June, 2012
18 February 2010
The two-career family - profs in the ivory tower
A couple of things I see problematic about favouring couples are first of all, it perpetuates the norm of coupledon as being the more acceptable marital status. Candidates who are single are probably finding it more difficult to find jobs that lead to academic careers, although once they get a foot in the door they may find that finding a partner with similar goals is easier. All in all, what this emphasis on marriage is leading to is a wider economic division in society, as those already advantaged in the workplace (through marriage or social network) take up more of the scarce resources, leaving less for those struggling to achieve higher levels in their career. It's favouritism to have the needs of some couples looked after by the university, if places are not available for both within one institution, or within one city. Out in the real world, that's what it's like - two people, two careers, and compromises so that both get some of what they want out of life. Making it too easy for some, while ignoring the plight of those who get left behind - worse yet under the guise of merit - is unforgivable.
I did submit this comment this morning to the Montreal Gazette but was told, when I inquired, that it might be a tech problem, relating to my own computer. So I placed another comment to another article there, with no problem. This seems to me to be rather a controversial issue, about spouses being encouraged to take up professorships at the same university, and I was surprised to see only one response posted.
Universities see benefits to hiring spouses as profs
By Misty Harris, Canwest News Service
Montreal Gazette
February 16, 2010
http://www.montrealgazette.com/life/Universities+benefits+hiring+spouses+profs/2571425/story.html
I did submit this comment this morning to the Montreal Gazette but was told, when I inquired, that it might be a tech problem, relating to my own computer. So I placed another comment to another article there, with no problem. This seems to me to be rather a controversial issue, about spouses being encouraged to take up professorships at the same university, and I was surprised to see only one response posted.
Universities see benefits to hiring spouses as profs
By Misty Harris, Canwest News Service
Montreal Gazette
February 16, 2010
http://www.montrealgazette.com/life/Universities+benefits+hiring+spouses+profs/2571425/story.html
24 January 2010
The newspaper industry and the online pay wall - paying for online news
Leah McLaren of the Globe and Mail says that "the newspaper industry is coming to the slow realization that no one else will value you if you don't value yourself." That's just another of those myths that contain a half-truth. It certainly isn't true that people will value you even though you know you have worth - that what you say has worth - and that you value yourself. More realistically, people value newspapers and other people for external signs they see of their apparent worth - a title, credentials, career, employer (for people), or journalists with a reputation, title, career, etc (for newspapers). Most people don't really judge others on the basis of what they write or have done. Most people wait to see how someone else will judge them.
A newspaper can value itself without feeling they have to close themselves off from all but those willing or able to pay for their service. Even lawyers have a service for the poor (though I see signs of that changing too), although most of their best work is saved for those with money. If a newspaper truly valued itself, it wouldn't feel it had to refrain from giving news away in order to be valued. It might feel it had to refrain from giving news away in order to impress small-minded people who use money as a sign of worth. After all, it is these people, the ones with money - even though many of them have little ability to think for themselves - that newspapers must impress.
This entire scenario planned for the future is a further indication of where our society is heading - towards a wider gap between the rich and those less well off. By all means, start excluding those unwilling to pay for news, and the knowledge base that the rich already see as theirs will begin to come true, as those without will have less access to the same resources.
Creating snob appeal for the offerings of journalists
By Bill Doskoch
Bill Doskoch: Media, BPS*, Film, Minutiae
Jan 23, 2010
http://www.billdoskoch.ca/2010/01/23/creating-snob-appeal-for-the-offerings-of-journalists/
I'm looking forward to buying my online news
By Leah McLaren
Globe and Mail
Jan 22, 2010
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/life/style/im-looking-forward-to-buying-my-online-news/article1440711
http://samcpherson.homestead.com/files/Miscellaneous/2010_Jan_ImLookingForwardToBuyingOnlineNews.doc
Links updated June, 2012
A newspaper can value itself without feeling they have to close themselves off from all but those willing or able to pay for their service. Even lawyers have a service for the poor (though I see signs of that changing too), although most of their best work is saved for those with money. If a newspaper truly valued itself, it wouldn't feel it had to refrain from giving news away in order to be valued. It might feel it had to refrain from giving news away in order to impress small-minded people who use money as a sign of worth. After all, it is these people, the ones with money - even though many of them have little ability to think for themselves - that newspapers must impress.
This entire scenario planned for the future is a further indication of where our society is heading - towards a wider gap between the rich and those less well off. By all means, start excluding those unwilling to pay for news, and the knowledge base that the rich already see as theirs will begin to come true, as those without will have less access to the same resources.
Creating snob appeal for the offerings of journalists
By Bill Doskoch
Bill Doskoch: Media, BPS*, Film, Minutiae
Jan 23, 2010
http://www.billdoskoch.ca/2010/01/23/creating-snob-appeal-for-the-offerings-of-journalists/
I'm looking forward to buying my online news
By Leah McLaren
Globe and Mail
Jan 22, 2010
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/life/style/im-looking-forward-to-buying-my-online-news/article1440711
http://samcpherson.homestead.com/files/Miscellaneous/2010_Jan_ImLookingForwardToBuyingOnlineNews.doc
Links updated June, 2012
22 January 2010
Sex for grades in universities
[updated Apr 28, 2012]
The term 'sexual harassment' doesn't get to the underlying issues of many problems within universities, in whichever country one happens to be (the country that is the subject of the article the title is linked to, above, is South Africa). But sex and sexuality, I'm sure, must underlie many situations related to grants and the allocation of TA positions to PhD students, for instance.
I discovered that trying to deal with these, without bringing in the more sensitive aspects of sex and sexual relationships didn't help my situation with teaching or keeping the supervisor of my research. I would say too, as other letters here indicate, that it isn't just a problem associated with men's behaviour, but equally about some women's willingness to use whatever is at their hands to ease their way through the system; and then, not always just to ease their way, but acting politically in matters of sexuality and coupledom, for reasons I'm not clear about.
Thus, one woman's problems with the system might be swept aside by other women more intent on supporting men's 'rights' and desires, it seems. I am now back in Canada where the situation is no different.
Added Apr 28, 2012
'Sex for grades in Africa' (John Morgan, THE, Times Higher Education, UK) opened up this topic for me, and I have left my comments there, and also on the site of the Canadian piece, ‘On-campus sex ban,’ by Dakshana Bascaramurty, which drew over 250 comments - insights from students, professors, parents, law enforcement, as well as teachers and potential teachers and other interested readers.
Other articles have come to my attention from the same time period – the year 2010. It’s good to see someone (a man) presenting what I consider to be practical suggestions for profs in such situations, bordering between consensual relations with students, negotiations for practical rewards, and sometimes, what might be thought of as sexual harassment, when the one with the real power over career or no-career, uses it and causes harm.
In particular I noticed this paragraph by Hugo Schwyzer, "an expert on body image, sexuality and gender justice," and would like to add one change in the wording, which to me must sum up many of the interactions that go on.
Change the first line from ‘When a student has a crush on a teacher or mentor’ to this:
“[When a prof or mentor thinks a student has a crush on him], it’s the job of that prof to “affirm and re-direct.” The affirmation doesn’t have to be as obvious as calling the student out on the crush, unless the student has already confessed it. The key is avoiding three “wrong” responses: shaming or belittling the student, withdrawing from one’s mentoring role, or engaging in amorous relations” (Schwyzer, ‘How do you desexualize that.’)
I recall a professor turning his back on me, after having misinterpreted my behaviour. Having crossed the line, whenever he saw me he turned his back and took off in the other direction. I had looked upon him with admiration, and interest in his work, but that was the end of that. So I do agree with Schwyer that profs do need to learn how to “affirm and re-direct.” It’s not a skill that comes naturally, even though profs are often looked at as the ones who would know what to do, and always do the right thing.
I agree too, with much of what Schwyzer writes in ‘Overselling agency.’ No one is born knowing how to act, how to get what they need and want from a relationship or university education. His focus is one young women, but writing from the perspective of someone who at midlife went to university, single-again as a divorced woman from an overprotective (controlling) marriage, I was ill-prepared for dealing with matters of sexuality and relationships. I thought I had choices, but obviously not. Younger women had the opportunity to engage, without thought, in the kind of behaviour I never did, having been married at age 20, twenty years earlier.
In ‘Crushing student crushes,’ Barry Dank says, “For Schwyzer, students have crushes since students are de facto children. They are not yet grownups who can experience a mature love. Or translated- they have not yet graduated; once they graduate then they are adults. Reminds me of the old idea that a girl cannot become a woman, remains a girl or a child until she married.’
Everyone has their own idea of when a person becomes an adult. It’s true what Dank says, that a common belief used to be that women became adults when they married and became Mrs so and so. Underlying that notion might have been the idea that a married woman was capable of having sex and producing children. In today’s world, I get the impression that becoming an adult, for young women, greatly depends on their willingness to have sex, and most particularly, without feelings, in other words, to have sex on the same terms men have often had sex, historically. Thus, to be an adult is to be more like a man – and that includes the ideas of earning a living and paying taxes, and sometimes, keeping their own name when they marry.
In reality, becoming an adult is a process, and even then, people can resort to childish behaviour (or worse), when the going gets rough. The idea of life stages used to be popular, such as those of Erik Erikson, and I would think there’s more truth to that than the idea of adulthood coming at a particular point in a person’s life. I see this concept of life cycle development as relevant to a person’s sexual development also, as people’s sexual needs and desires change as they grow up, perhaps gain a partner, grow more mature, and grow into old age.
As for female students having sex with their profs, many are young, and most likely either naïve or too knowledgeable about their sexual power to be involved with immature profs. For a year or two, as an undergrad in the early 90s, I was a member of Barry Dank’s asc-l discussion list, on this topic of profs, students, and sexual relations. It ended badly when it came to light that my views and experiences were not the same as theirs. Rather than discuss the topic as having victims on both sides – profs being falsely accused and female students subjected to unwanted advances and being punished for not conforming, I finally realized only one side mattered for the Dank group.
Four of the articles below (from the US) are meant to be read in order. The Hugo Schwyzer and Barry Dank conversation took place via both their websites, starting with
1) Schwyzer’s ‘How do you desexualize that?’ to
2) Dank’s ‘Crushing student crushes,’ to
3) Schwyzer’s ‘Overselling agency’ and back again to
4) Dank’s ‘Response to Hugo Schwyzer (on Overselling agency).’
Another times Higher (THE) article, ‘Sex and the university,’ was mentioned in one of the articles so I have included the link, below, as well as a link to a related post in this blog, 'Lust: one of the seven deadly sins of the academy.'
Crushing student crushes (Response to How do you desexualize that?)
By Barry Dank
Dankprofessor’s weblog
Sept 29, 2010
http://dankprofessor.wordpress.com/2010/09/29/crushing-student-crushes/
How do you desexualize that? A reprint on the “erotics of teaching”
By Hugo Schwyzer
hugoschwyzer.net
Sept 19, 2010
http://www.hugoschwyzer.net/2010/09/19/how-do-you-desexualize-that-a-reprint-on-the-erotics-of-teaching/
Lust: one of the seven deadly sins of the academy
By Sue McPherson
Sue's Views on the NewsSept 19, 2009
http://suemcpherson.blogspot.ca/2009/09/seven-deadly-sins-of-academy.html
On-campus sex ban: Hands off the student body, Prof (with 250 comments)
By Dakshana Bascaramurty
Globe and Mail
Apr 08, 2010
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/life/on-campus-sex-ban-hands-off-the-student-body-prof/article1528269/comments
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/life/on-campus-sex-ban-hands-off-the-student-body-prof/article1528269/
http://samcpherson.homestead.com/files/Miscellaneous/2010_Apr_Comments_OnCampusSexBan.doc (comments only)
Overselling agency: a reply to Barry Dank on teacher-student sex
By Hugo Schwyzer
HugoSchwyzer.net
Sept 30, 2010
http://hugoschwyzer.net/2010/09/30/overselling-agency-a-reply-to-barry-dank-on-teacher-student-sex/
Response to Hugo Schwyzer (on Overselling agency)
By Barry Dank
HugoSchwyzer.net
Oct 1, 2010, at 2:43 pm
http://www.hugoschwyzer.net/2010/09/30/overselling-agency-a-reply-to-barry-dank-on-teacher-student-sex/
Sex and the university
By Hannah Fearn
THE
May 22, 2008
http://www.timeshighereducation.co.uk/story.asp?storycode=401935&encCode=986570951BC54097875JTBS737226611
Sex for grades in Africa's academy
By John Morgan
Times Higher Education (THE) (UK)
21 January 2010
http://www.timeshighereducation.co.uk/story.asp?storycode=410068
Links updated April 2012
The term 'sexual harassment' doesn't get to the underlying issues of many problems within universities, in whichever country one happens to be (the country that is the subject of the article the title is linked to, above, is South Africa). But sex and sexuality, I'm sure, must underlie many situations related to grants and the allocation of TA positions to PhD students, for instance.
I discovered that trying to deal with these, without bringing in the more sensitive aspects of sex and sexual relationships didn't help my situation with teaching or keeping the supervisor of my research. I would say too, as other letters here indicate, that it isn't just a problem associated with men's behaviour, but equally about some women's willingness to use whatever is at their hands to ease their way through the system; and then, not always just to ease their way, but acting politically in matters of sexuality and coupledom, for reasons I'm not clear about.
Thus, one woman's problems with the system might be swept aside by other women more intent on supporting men's 'rights' and desires, it seems. I am now back in Canada where the situation is no different.
Added Apr 28, 2012
'Sex for grades in Africa' (John Morgan, THE, Times Higher Education, UK) opened up this topic for me, and I have left my comments there, and also on the site of the Canadian piece, ‘On-campus sex ban,’ by Dakshana Bascaramurty, which drew over 250 comments - insights from students, professors, parents, law enforcement, as well as teachers and potential teachers and other interested readers.
Other articles have come to my attention from the same time period – the year 2010. It’s good to see someone (a man) presenting what I consider to be practical suggestions for profs in such situations, bordering between consensual relations with students, negotiations for practical rewards, and sometimes, what might be thought of as sexual harassment, when the one with the real power over career or no-career, uses it and causes harm.
In particular I noticed this paragraph by Hugo Schwyzer, "an expert on body image, sexuality and gender justice," and would like to add one change in the wording, which to me must sum up many of the interactions that go on.
Change the first line from ‘When a student has a crush on a teacher or mentor’ to this:
“[When a prof or mentor thinks a student has a crush on him], it’s the job of that prof to “affirm and re-direct.” The affirmation doesn’t have to be as obvious as calling the student out on the crush, unless the student has already confessed it. The key is avoiding three “wrong” responses: shaming or belittling the student, withdrawing from one’s mentoring role, or engaging in amorous relations” (Schwyzer, ‘How do you desexualize that.’)
I recall a professor turning his back on me, after having misinterpreted my behaviour. Having crossed the line, whenever he saw me he turned his back and took off in the other direction. I had looked upon him with admiration, and interest in his work, but that was the end of that. So I do agree with Schwyer that profs do need to learn how to “affirm and re-direct.” It’s not a skill that comes naturally, even though profs are often looked at as the ones who would know what to do, and always do the right thing.
I agree too, with much of what Schwyzer writes in ‘Overselling agency.’ No one is born knowing how to act, how to get what they need and want from a relationship or university education. His focus is one young women, but writing from the perspective of someone who at midlife went to university, single-again as a divorced woman from an overprotective (controlling) marriage, I was ill-prepared for dealing with matters of sexuality and relationships. I thought I had choices, but obviously not. Younger women had the opportunity to engage, without thought, in the kind of behaviour I never did, having been married at age 20, twenty years earlier.
In ‘Crushing student crushes,’ Barry Dank says, “For Schwyzer, students have crushes since students are de facto children. They are not yet grownups who can experience a mature love. Or translated- they have not yet graduated; once they graduate then they are adults. Reminds me of the old idea that a girl cannot become a woman, remains a girl or a child until she married.’
Everyone has their own idea of when a person becomes an adult. It’s true what Dank says, that a common belief used to be that women became adults when they married and became Mrs so and so. Underlying that notion might have been the idea that a married woman was capable of having sex and producing children. In today’s world, I get the impression that becoming an adult, for young women, greatly depends on their willingness to have sex, and most particularly, without feelings, in other words, to have sex on the same terms men have often had sex, historically. Thus, to be an adult is to be more like a man – and that includes the ideas of earning a living and paying taxes, and sometimes, keeping their own name when they marry.
In reality, becoming an adult is a process, and even then, people can resort to childish behaviour (or worse), when the going gets rough. The idea of life stages used to be popular, such as those of Erik Erikson, and I would think there’s more truth to that than the idea of adulthood coming at a particular point in a person’s life. I see this concept of life cycle development as relevant to a person’s sexual development also, as people’s sexual needs and desires change as they grow up, perhaps gain a partner, grow more mature, and grow into old age.
As for female students having sex with their profs, many are young, and most likely either naïve or too knowledgeable about their sexual power to be involved with immature profs. For a year or two, as an undergrad in the early 90s, I was a member of Barry Dank’s asc-l discussion list, on this topic of profs, students, and sexual relations. It ended badly when it came to light that my views and experiences were not the same as theirs. Rather than discuss the topic as having victims on both sides – profs being falsely accused and female students subjected to unwanted advances and being punished for not conforming, I finally realized only one side mattered for the Dank group.
Four of the articles below (from the US) are meant to be read in order. The Hugo Schwyzer and Barry Dank conversation took place via both their websites, starting with
1) Schwyzer’s ‘How do you desexualize that?’ to
2) Dank’s ‘Crushing student crushes,’ to
3) Schwyzer’s ‘Overselling agency’ and back again to
4) Dank’s ‘Response to Hugo Schwyzer (on Overselling agency).’
Another times Higher (THE) article, ‘Sex and the university,’ was mentioned in one of the articles so I have included the link, below, as well as a link to a related post in this blog, 'Lust: one of the seven deadly sins of the academy.'
Crushing student crushes (Response to How do you desexualize that?)
By Barry Dank
Dankprofessor’s weblog
Sept 29, 2010
http://dankprofessor.wordpress.com/2010/09/29/crushing-student-crushes/
How do you desexualize that? A reprint on the “erotics of teaching”
By Hugo Schwyzer
hugoschwyzer.net
Sept 19, 2010
http://www.hugoschwyzer.net/2010/09/19/how-do-you-desexualize-that-a-reprint-on-the-erotics-of-teaching/
Lust: one of the seven deadly sins of the academy
By Sue McPherson
Sue's Views on the NewsSept 19, 2009
http://suemcpherson.blogspot.ca/2009/09/seven-deadly-sins-of-academy.html
On-campus sex ban: Hands off the student body, Prof (with 250 comments)
By Dakshana Bascaramurty
Globe and Mail
Apr 08, 2010
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/life/on-campus-sex-ban-hands-off-the-student-body-prof/article1528269/comments
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/life/on-campus-sex-ban-hands-off-the-student-body-prof/article1528269/
http://samcpherson.homestead.com/files/Miscellaneous/2010_Apr_Comments_OnCampusSexBan.doc (comments only)
Overselling agency: a reply to Barry Dank on teacher-student sex
By Hugo Schwyzer
HugoSchwyzer.net
Sept 30, 2010
http://hugoschwyzer.net/2010/09/30/overselling-agency-a-reply-to-barry-dank-on-teacher-student-sex/
Response to Hugo Schwyzer (on Overselling agency)
By Barry Dank
HugoSchwyzer.net
Oct 1, 2010, at 2:43 pm
http://www.hugoschwyzer.net/2010/09/30/overselling-agency-a-reply-to-barry-dank-on-teacher-student-sex/
Sex and the university
By Hannah Fearn
THE
May 22, 2008
http://www.timeshighereducation.co.uk/story.asp?storycode=401935&encCode=986570951BC54097875JTBS737226611
Sex for grades in Africa's academy
By John Morgan
Times Higher Education (THE) (UK)
21 January 2010
http://www.timeshighereducation.co.uk/story.asp?storycode=410068
Links updated April 2012
6 December 2009
Montreal Massacre 1989 - 2009
Revised and edited June, 2012
In the comments section following the article Montreal Massacre Death Cult by Margaret Wente (Globe & Mail, Dec 7, 2009), a commenter asked why it is that violence against women receives special status over violence against everyone else, when women experience less violence than men?" This is a reasonable question, unless you look at it in terms of power – who has it, who doesn’t. When women had little power in their lives, due to marriage and lack of career to give them financial independence, they were often at the mercy of men. Women have become more liberated, however, as the years have gone by, and that no longer holds true. Women in marriages - or out of them - are likely to have as much power - real power, of decision-making, access to resources, etc, as men. The whole social issue of 'violence against women' is a remnant from earlier times.
It’s strange but Marc Lépine, the man who killed 14 women at the Montreal Ecole in 1989 actually represented one of the men who was far less powerful than women. Yet because of the myth of 'violence against women', he got blamed for being the originator of the Montreal Massacre (just as many years ago housewives got blamed when things didn't go right at home).
The Montreal Massacre had nothing to do with domestic violence. The feminists and pseudofeminists involved were the ones who held the power. Marc Lépine didn't have any. Male violence and aggression is often about masculinity, as was Lépine's act of violence. Is it possible that women are more likely to use psychological tactics aggressively so as not to appear aggressive, or masculine. Things are not always as they seem.
Margaret Wente has claimed that the argument that Marc Lépine killed women for daring to pursue their dream implies that all “ordinary” men would also be enraged by seeing women get ahead. Yet, she says, that isn’t so. Here, in her words:
“In the narrative of the Montreal massacre, the students were killed for being feminists – for daring to pursue their dream. That's true, so far as it goes. But this narrative also implies that the rage of Marc Lépine reflected the rage of ordinary men embittered by seeing women get ahead (Montreal Massacre death, 2009).
Wente argues that is simply isn’t the case that all “ordinary” men feel the kind of rage that Lépine did, and the reason is that Lépine was abused by his father, she says, thus had pent-up anger inside against women, the reasoning goes (though not against men). The argument she uses doesn’t explain the circumstances which led Marc Lépine to the Polytechnique that day.
In response, I would suggest that men in general don’t show anger towards the group that is oppressing them, any more than housewives of the fifties did towards their husbands, at being held back. For one thing, it just isn’t permitted in society to express oneself that way. The tendency is for anyone who is being controlled to that extent to accept their situation rather than continually fight it – to push it down, bury it in the subconscious. People don’t use such extreme violence unless there are other things going on at the same time.
Most men today, whether “ordinary” men or the more privileged kind, know that if they want to get ahead they have to be nice to the powerful women in their lives. And maybe that’s something good that has come out of feminism (as long as women today don’t abuse their power as men used to), because I’m sure many men in earlier times never felt they had to be fair or even kind to their spouses. Sometimes people just don’t realize the negative effect of their power and the ways they use it. Sometimes people with that kind of power over material resources sincerely believe they deserve what they have because they are superior.
Wente further argues that “His [Lépine’s] father had a deep contempt for women, and severely abused both the boy and his mother before abandoning them. Mr. Lépine obviously contracted his father's rage. But he no more resembled ordinary men than Robert Pickton does.”
But Marc Lépine is no more like Robert Pickton than Pickton is like most other men. Each is different in their own way. Lépine’s multiple act of violence was not committed against prostitutes, or aboriginal women, or poor women. He killed women in the institution that he saw as doing harm to him and his life, the women who, for him, represented the middle class feminists who took his career goals away from him, and who were destroying society.
So, no, Marc Lépine doesn’t represent all men – or as Wente says, his rage isn’t representative of all men’s. Yet it was Marc Lépine that feminists made the object of all their rage, despite the reason for his justifiable anger being nothing to do with domestic violence and everything to do with feminism.
This act of violence he committed had nothing to do with the way his father treated him or his mother. It makes more sense to realize that he had been hurt very badly by someone, and not through a personal relationship, but connected to the Polytechnique and its staff and students that had treated him so badly, leaving him with nothing, with no way out, no other options. I have experienced some not-so-pleasant interactions myself, and when one sees students getting admitted to the college who don’t seem to have any special knowledge or credentials, or professors showing favouritism, the unfairness of it can be overwhelming. Without a strong supportive network of friends and community, one doesn’t stand a chance.
Also, Marc Lépine was aware of the impact of feminism on society, whereas many men and women were not. He knew it, but it was one of those things that people don’t like to talk about. People – young men and women – just tried to find a way around it so they could go to university too, and succeed. Yes, Marc Lépine knew it, but he lacked the skills to write about what he knew. No doubt his effort to try to inform others resulted in further frustration. No one knows exactly why circumstances come together they way they do resulting in the kind of behaviour that Marc Lépine exhibited. Margaret Wente would like to blame it on childhood abuse, a typical Freudian viewpoint, and one from pop psychology, but not a perspective that holds up under close examination.
One of students at the Polytechnique at the time was Heidi Rathjen, who later said, “The atmosphere at school was totally egalitarian. It was a wonderful place for women.” (Lessons of the Montreal Massacre, 2009). But the egalitarianism she speaks of was between men and women students of the middle class, not between the daughters of important people in Montreal and young men who had little family influence. I know that she sees people’s helpfulness as “egalitarian” and not that such people tend to be nicer towards those who already have resources of their own. I know she sees getting a job at the funeral home and the bursary that came with it as something she deserved, and thus fair, but it’s not all deserving young women and men who get treated like that.
It can be easy for those in power to distort facts and blame the one with none for not being smart enough, or being too emotional (a tactic often used against women in the past). By discrediting the Marc Lépines of this world, they can get unknowing people on their side – especially young women - willing to see them as lesser human beings, entirely responsible for misfortune endured by women in their relations with men, rather than recognize the damage feminism has caused to society.
Original post, Dec 6, 2009, updated
A selection of articles (see below) on the Montreal Massacre (20 years ago today, Dec 6, 1989) represent just a fraction of the many perspectives on this tragedy. ‘A Slap in the Face’ for Victims, by Ingrid Peritz, emphasizes the importance of the firearms registry, which some feminists see as the one tangible legacy of the Montreal Massacre.
Once again the comments on this article provide much to reflect on, from people interested in this subject of gun control and concerned about the rationale behind it. In Lessons of the Montreal Massacre, by Catherine Porter, the story is told of one of the survivors of the Montreal Massacre, Nathalie Provost, who speaks to us about choice, and taken-for-granted opportunities for fulfilment in life. She and her children are living in a different world than most of us.
The fact that Marc Lépine attempted to get the world to see how feminism has created a wider division in society between those who have and those who do not, seems to be lost on her. If her children, and all children, had to rely on one person’s views only – hers – about the lessons of the Montreal Massacre, the world would be in trouble indeed.
Western News, from the University of Western Ontario, now known as Western, announced its 2009 remembrance ceremonies, one in Engineering, the other at Brescia College to honour the loss of the 14 women killed on Dec 6, 1989 at Montreal, and "the lives of all women that have been lost to gender-based violence" (Montreal Remembrance Ceremony, 2009). I believe they are actually referring to women killed by men they know, mostly, and not the kind of killing Marc Lépine committed that day – meant to be a political act to draw attention to the harm feminism has caused in society.
Marc Lépine lost his life that day also, as did others, though that is never acknowledged by heartless, narrow-minded, politically-oriented feminists. On Dec 6, 1917, the explosion of the SS Mont-Blanc in Halifax Harbour left 2000 dead, injuring thousands of others. This is a sad day of remembrance.
The Montreal Massacre Death Cult, by Margaret Wente, is a request for feminists and Canadians to move on, but in so doing, Wente manages to perpetuate stereotypical myths about Marc Lépine that ensure moving on is not possible.
See also my website about the Montreal Massacre: http://www.montrealmassacre.net/
Lessons of the Montreal Massacre
By Catherine Porter
Toronto Star
Dec 5, 2009
http://www.thestar.com/news/canada/article/734817--lessons-of-the-montreal-massacre
Montreal Massacre Death Cult
By Margaret Wente
Globe and Mail
Dec 07, Dec 11, 2009
http://www.tribemagazine.com/board/tribe-main-forum/157931-montreal-massacre-death-cult.html
http://m.theglobeandmail.com/commentary/montreal-massacre-death-cult/article1205685/?service=mobile
Montreal Remembrance Ceremony
Western News, p. 13
Dec 3, 2009
http://communications.uwo.ca/western_news/PDF/WNews_Dec03_09.pdf
‘A Slap in the Face’ for Victims
By Ingrid Peritz
Globe and Mail
Dec 05, 2009
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/national/a-slap-in-the-face-for-victims/article1390008
http://samcpherson.homestead.com/files/Miscellaneous/2009_DecSlapInFaceForVictims.doc
Links updated June, 2012
In the comments section following the article Montreal Massacre Death Cult by Margaret Wente (Globe & Mail, Dec 7, 2009), a commenter asked why it is that violence against women receives special status over violence against everyone else, when women experience less violence than men?" This is a reasonable question, unless you look at it in terms of power – who has it, who doesn’t. When women had little power in their lives, due to marriage and lack of career to give them financial independence, they were often at the mercy of men. Women have become more liberated, however, as the years have gone by, and that no longer holds true. Women in marriages - or out of them - are likely to have as much power - real power, of decision-making, access to resources, etc, as men. The whole social issue of 'violence against women' is a remnant from earlier times.
It’s strange but Marc Lépine, the man who killed 14 women at the Montreal Ecole in 1989 actually represented one of the men who was far less powerful than women. Yet because of the myth of 'violence against women', he got blamed for being the originator of the Montreal Massacre (just as many years ago housewives got blamed when things didn't go right at home).
The Montreal Massacre had nothing to do with domestic violence. The feminists and pseudofeminists involved were the ones who held the power. Marc Lépine didn't have any. Male violence and aggression is often about masculinity, as was Lépine's act of violence. Is it possible that women are more likely to use psychological tactics aggressively so as not to appear aggressive, or masculine. Things are not always as they seem.
Margaret Wente has claimed that the argument that Marc Lépine killed women for daring to pursue their dream implies that all “ordinary” men would also be enraged by seeing women get ahead. Yet, she says, that isn’t so. Here, in her words:
“In the narrative of the Montreal massacre, the students were killed for being feminists – for daring to pursue their dream. That's true, so far as it goes. But this narrative also implies that the rage of Marc Lépine reflected the rage of ordinary men embittered by seeing women get ahead (Montreal Massacre death, 2009).
Wente argues that is simply isn’t the case that all “ordinary” men feel the kind of rage that Lépine did, and the reason is that Lépine was abused by his father, she says, thus had pent-up anger inside against women, the reasoning goes (though not against men). The argument she uses doesn’t explain the circumstances which led Marc Lépine to the Polytechnique that day.
In response, I would suggest that men in general don’t show anger towards the group that is oppressing them, any more than housewives of the fifties did towards their husbands, at being held back. For one thing, it just isn’t permitted in society to express oneself that way. The tendency is for anyone who is being controlled to that extent to accept their situation rather than continually fight it – to push it down, bury it in the subconscious. People don’t use such extreme violence unless there are other things going on at the same time.
Most men today, whether “ordinary” men or the more privileged kind, know that if they want to get ahead they have to be nice to the powerful women in their lives. And maybe that’s something good that has come out of feminism (as long as women today don’t abuse their power as men used to), because I’m sure many men in earlier times never felt they had to be fair or even kind to their spouses. Sometimes people just don’t realize the negative effect of their power and the ways they use it. Sometimes people with that kind of power over material resources sincerely believe they deserve what they have because they are superior.
Wente further argues that “His [Lépine’s] father had a deep contempt for women, and severely abused both the boy and his mother before abandoning them. Mr. Lépine obviously contracted his father's rage. But he no more resembled ordinary men than Robert Pickton does.”
But Marc Lépine is no more like Robert Pickton than Pickton is like most other men. Each is different in their own way. Lépine’s multiple act of violence was not committed against prostitutes, or aboriginal women, or poor women. He killed women in the institution that he saw as doing harm to him and his life, the women who, for him, represented the middle class feminists who took his career goals away from him, and who were destroying society.
So, no, Marc Lépine doesn’t represent all men – or as Wente says, his rage isn’t representative of all men’s. Yet it was Marc Lépine that feminists made the object of all their rage, despite the reason for his justifiable anger being nothing to do with domestic violence and everything to do with feminism.
This act of violence he committed had nothing to do with the way his father treated him or his mother. It makes more sense to realize that he had been hurt very badly by someone, and not through a personal relationship, but connected to the Polytechnique and its staff and students that had treated him so badly, leaving him with nothing, with no way out, no other options. I have experienced some not-so-pleasant interactions myself, and when one sees students getting admitted to the college who don’t seem to have any special knowledge or credentials, or professors showing favouritism, the unfairness of it can be overwhelming. Without a strong supportive network of friends and community, one doesn’t stand a chance.
Also, Marc Lépine was aware of the impact of feminism on society, whereas many men and women were not. He knew it, but it was one of those things that people don’t like to talk about. People – young men and women – just tried to find a way around it so they could go to university too, and succeed. Yes, Marc Lépine knew it, but he lacked the skills to write about what he knew. No doubt his effort to try to inform others resulted in further frustration. No one knows exactly why circumstances come together they way they do resulting in the kind of behaviour that Marc Lépine exhibited. Margaret Wente would like to blame it on childhood abuse, a typical Freudian viewpoint, and one from pop psychology, but not a perspective that holds up under close examination.
One of students at the Polytechnique at the time was Heidi Rathjen, who later said, “The atmosphere at school was totally egalitarian. It was a wonderful place for women.” (Lessons of the Montreal Massacre, 2009). But the egalitarianism she speaks of was between men and women students of the middle class, not between the daughters of important people in Montreal and young men who had little family influence. I know that she sees people’s helpfulness as “egalitarian” and not that such people tend to be nicer towards those who already have resources of their own. I know she sees getting a job at the funeral home and the bursary that came with it as something she deserved, and thus fair, but it’s not all deserving young women and men who get treated like that.
It can be easy for those in power to distort facts and blame the one with none for not being smart enough, or being too emotional (a tactic often used against women in the past). By discrediting the Marc Lépines of this world, they can get unknowing people on their side – especially young women - willing to see them as lesser human beings, entirely responsible for misfortune endured by women in their relations with men, rather than recognize the damage feminism has caused to society.
Original post, Dec 6, 2009, updated
A selection of articles (see below) on the Montreal Massacre (20 years ago today, Dec 6, 1989) represent just a fraction of the many perspectives on this tragedy. ‘A Slap in the Face’ for Victims, by Ingrid Peritz, emphasizes the importance of the firearms registry, which some feminists see as the one tangible legacy of the Montreal Massacre.
Once again the comments on this article provide much to reflect on, from people interested in this subject of gun control and concerned about the rationale behind it. In Lessons of the Montreal Massacre, by Catherine Porter, the story is told of one of the survivors of the Montreal Massacre, Nathalie Provost, who speaks to us about choice, and taken-for-granted opportunities for fulfilment in life. She and her children are living in a different world than most of us.
The fact that Marc Lépine attempted to get the world to see how feminism has created a wider division in society between those who have and those who do not, seems to be lost on her. If her children, and all children, had to rely on one person’s views only – hers – about the lessons of the Montreal Massacre, the world would be in trouble indeed.
Western News, from the University of Western Ontario, now known as Western, announced its 2009 remembrance ceremonies, one in Engineering, the other at Brescia College to honour the loss of the 14 women killed on Dec 6, 1989 at Montreal, and "the lives of all women that have been lost to gender-based violence" (Montreal Remembrance Ceremony, 2009). I believe they are actually referring to women killed by men they know, mostly, and not the kind of killing Marc Lépine committed that day – meant to be a political act to draw attention to the harm feminism has caused in society.
Marc Lépine lost his life that day also, as did others, though that is never acknowledged by heartless, narrow-minded, politically-oriented feminists. On Dec 6, 1917, the explosion of the SS Mont-Blanc in Halifax Harbour left 2000 dead, injuring thousands of others. This is a sad day of remembrance.
The Montreal Massacre Death Cult, by Margaret Wente, is a request for feminists and Canadians to move on, but in so doing, Wente manages to perpetuate stereotypical myths about Marc Lépine that ensure moving on is not possible.
See also my website about the Montreal Massacre: http://www.montrealmassacre.net/
Lessons of the Montreal Massacre
By Catherine Porter
Toronto Star
Dec 5, 2009
http://www.thestar.com/news/canada/article/734817--lessons-of-the-montreal-massacre
Montreal Massacre Death Cult
By Margaret Wente
Globe and Mail
Dec 07, Dec 11, 2009
http://www.tribemagazine.com/board/tribe-main-forum/157931-montreal-massacre-death-cult.html
http://m.theglobeandmail.com/commentary/montreal-massacre-death-cult/article1205685/?service=mobile
Montreal Remembrance Ceremony
Western News, p. 13
Dec 3, 2009
http://communications.uwo.ca/western_news/PDF/WNews_Dec03_09.pdf
‘A Slap in the Face’ for Victims
By Ingrid Peritz
Globe and Mail
Dec 05, 2009
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/national/a-slap-in-the-face-for-victims/article1390008
http://samcpherson.homestead.com/files/Miscellaneous/2009_DecSlapInFaceForVictims.doc
Links updated June, 2012
22 October 2009
PhD university students: incomplete degrees
Updated May, 2012
In ‘Doctoring the System, 2009, Tara Brabazon makes a list of ten ideas that she believes will create an atmosphere conducive to doctoral students’ completing their degrees and provide valuable information for students, professors, and administration. In general, it appears to be a list that combines both individual traits and the kind that are more about society itself - the structure of the organization and the people in it.
In Item 4, Orientation, Brazabon makes a point of listing “characteristics” of students who didn’t finish their degrees. At the same time, she says that “simply because a student showed one or two of these behavioural markers did not mean they would be unsuccessful.” However, the list of signs itself is a combination of character traits and social circumstances, not solely characteristics of the student alone, so calling it that is not accurate. Perhaps different terms other than ‘characteristics’ and ‘behavioural markers’ could be used, as these imply that the items in the list arise from within the student, are internal to the student, and did not occur due to some event or circumstances nothing to do with the student, or are more about the student being in the wrong place at the wrong time.
Having such a list makes it easier for the university to place the blame for an incomplete degree on the student rather than looking at other circumstances within the university or related to the thesis supervision itself. This is Brazabon’s list (from Item 4):
change of supervision, suspension, intellectual isolation, movement from full-time to part-time enrolment, irregular meetings with a supervisor, returning to study after a long break, an unsupportive partner or employer and a changing family situation, such as divorce or bereavement (Doctoring the System, 2009).
These may be signs of problems for the student in the future, but they are not characteristics of the student her or himself. A change of supervision may happen because the original supervisor turned out not to be the best for the student’s research, if their knowledge or theoretical approach differed too much from the student’s, for example. Changing from full-time to part-time could be a result of not being able to afford the tuition fees and needing to find work.
Seeing going from full-time to part-time as a character flaw is not helpful, though considering it a socioeconomic one would be. Furthermore, if meetings with their supervisor are irregular, that could be a problem with their working relationship, not simply the student not bothering anymore. Supervisors are human beings too. And while a changing family situation can be temporarily disruptive, for either student or supervisor, it doesn’t have to mean the end. In fact, older students, returning after a long break, are often more committed to getting their degree than younger one working on their first.
I am wondering if there are any statistics on these ideas, or if Brabazock is trying to use a commonsense approach.
The fact that research can be controversial, and in any case could well be political, has not been addressed in the article. Besides the research itself, the students themselves are political subjects immersed in a political environment, where race or nationality, and sex and sexuality are among the sources of conflict that can affect the completion of the research thesis. Worse yet, the decision to go forward with the research my be completely out of the control of the students themselves.
Women’s studies, and other groups vying for power in an environment known for its scarce resources can lead to university not being a pleasant place, without the necessary support, financial and otherwise. I agree with the distinction made by one of the commenters, Paul Davies, that being deemed withdrawn is not the same as a candidate being failed or pushed out. But the consequences can be the same when the ‘deemed withdrawn’ student cannot offer an adequate explanation for potential employers or other universities when applying for jobs or to grad school. An incomplete degree gives the impression that the student was incapable of doing the work or had personality problems, or if the reason given was lack of funding, then it appears as though the withdrawn student either lacked ability or their proposed research was not worthwhile. I'm not sure that the consequences of letting a student down are fully realized by those involved. The results can be devastating and life-changing, to be treated in this manner and left to struggle on with a damaged reputation.
Professors might take this decision thoughtlessly, to end a supervisory relationship for the wrong reasons, perhaps thinking it won’t make any difference. For example, if a student was accepted to enter a PhD program but had not quite finished the dissertation for the MA degree - a requirement in Canada but not in the UK, I understand) - the MA research supervisor may simply decide to quit, not bothering to finish up the research and the defense of it so the student has the MA in hand. Move ahead a few months, and the new university discovers that the PhD never got the MA and isn’t going to. This affects their perception of the student, possibly to the extent that they decide this is one student to let go – by withdrawing support and making it difficult to continue.
If, some time in the near future, the original supervisor realizes he made an error in judgement, and permits the student (now not doing a PhD or able to get work) to complete the MA degree and defend the dissertation research, does that absolve him of any responsibility in the effects to the student of not achieving the MA at the appropriate time in the timeline? If not getting it resulted in the student being pushed out of the PhD program in the next university, so several years later the student finally has the MA degree, but is now past the half-century mark in terms of life cycle, and has gaps in resume and an incomplete PhD, whose responsibility is that?
This story illustrates the concept of pop psychology known as the downward spiral. It explains how a person’s life can start to go downhill, and other people’s mistakes and decisions can contribute towards further spiraling down. In the same way, someone doing well in education and at work can experience the upward spiral, which they would no doubt attribute to their own ability and “characteristics,” whereas the reality is that the more they move upwards, the more likely it is that people will be nice to them, giving them things, access to more resources, and better jobs.
How do people find meaning in life after such adversity, not to mention fulfillment and the chance to contribute to society, especially when their experiences are of the kind many would rather not hear about, or their circumstances don’t appear to be worthwhile trying to improve? Fewer choices and options to reinvent one’s life, as well as limited resources and being on the wrong side of fifty can make it far more difficult than it would be for others.
The article by Tara Brabazon discusses far more than this, but my focus has been only on the one item. See the article, and many insightful comments on the THE page.
Doctoring the system
By Tara Brabazon
THE (Times Higher Education) UK
Oct 22, 2009
http://www.timeshighereducation.co.uk/story.asp?storycode=408733
In ‘Doctoring the System, 2009, Tara Brabazon makes a list of ten ideas that she believes will create an atmosphere conducive to doctoral students’ completing their degrees and provide valuable information for students, professors, and administration. In general, it appears to be a list that combines both individual traits and the kind that are more about society itself - the structure of the organization and the people in it.
In Item 4, Orientation, Brazabon makes a point of listing “characteristics” of students who didn’t finish their degrees. At the same time, she says that “simply because a student showed one or two of these behavioural markers did not mean they would be unsuccessful.” However, the list of signs itself is a combination of character traits and social circumstances, not solely characteristics of the student alone, so calling it that is not accurate. Perhaps different terms other than ‘characteristics’ and ‘behavioural markers’ could be used, as these imply that the items in the list arise from within the student, are internal to the student, and did not occur due to some event or circumstances nothing to do with the student, or are more about the student being in the wrong place at the wrong time.
Having such a list makes it easier for the university to place the blame for an incomplete degree on the student rather than looking at other circumstances within the university or related to the thesis supervision itself. This is Brazabon’s list (from Item 4):
change of supervision, suspension, intellectual isolation, movement from full-time to part-time enrolment, irregular meetings with a supervisor, returning to study after a long break, an unsupportive partner or employer and a changing family situation, such as divorce or bereavement (Doctoring the System, 2009).
These may be signs of problems for the student in the future, but they are not characteristics of the student her or himself. A change of supervision may happen because the original supervisor turned out not to be the best for the student’s research, if their knowledge or theoretical approach differed too much from the student’s, for example. Changing from full-time to part-time could be a result of not being able to afford the tuition fees and needing to find work.
Seeing going from full-time to part-time as a character flaw is not helpful, though considering it a socioeconomic one would be. Furthermore, if meetings with their supervisor are irregular, that could be a problem with their working relationship, not simply the student not bothering anymore. Supervisors are human beings too. And while a changing family situation can be temporarily disruptive, for either student or supervisor, it doesn’t have to mean the end. In fact, older students, returning after a long break, are often more committed to getting their degree than younger one working on their first.
I am wondering if there are any statistics on these ideas, or if Brabazock is trying to use a commonsense approach.
The fact that research can be controversial, and in any case could well be political, has not been addressed in the article. Besides the research itself, the students themselves are political subjects immersed in a political environment, where race or nationality, and sex and sexuality are among the sources of conflict that can affect the completion of the research thesis. Worse yet, the decision to go forward with the research my be completely out of the control of the students themselves.
Women’s studies, and other groups vying for power in an environment known for its scarce resources can lead to university not being a pleasant place, without the necessary support, financial and otherwise. I agree with the distinction made by one of the commenters, Paul Davies, that being deemed withdrawn is not the same as a candidate being failed or pushed out. But the consequences can be the same when the ‘deemed withdrawn’ student cannot offer an adequate explanation for potential employers or other universities when applying for jobs or to grad school. An incomplete degree gives the impression that the student was incapable of doing the work or had personality problems, or if the reason given was lack of funding, then it appears as though the withdrawn student either lacked ability or their proposed research was not worthwhile. I'm not sure that the consequences of letting a student down are fully realized by those involved. The results can be devastating and life-changing, to be treated in this manner and left to struggle on with a damaged reputation.
Professors might take this decision thoughtlessly, to end a supervisory relationship for the wrong reasons, perhaps thinking it won’t make any difference. For example, if a student was accepted to enter a PhD program but had not quite finished the dissertation for the MA degree - a requirement in Canada but not in the UK, I understand) - the MA research supervisor may simply decide to quit, not bothering to finish up the research and the defense of it so the student has the MA in hand. Move ahead a few months, and the new university discovers that the PhD never got the MA and isn’t going to. This affects their perception of the student, possibly to the extent that they decide this is one student to let go – by withdrawing support and making it difficult to continue.
If, some time in the near future, the original supervisor realizes he made an error in judgement, and permits the student (now not doing a PhD or able to get work) to complete the MA degree and defend the dissertation research, does that absolve him of any responsibility in the effects to the student of not achieving the MA at the appropriate time in the timeline? If not getting it resulted in the student being pushed out of the PhD program in the next university, so several years later the student finally has the MA degree, but is now past the half-century mark in terms of life cycle, and has gaps in resume and an incomplete PhD, whose responsibility is that?
This story illustrates the concept of pop psychology known as the downward spiral. It explains how a person’s life can start to go downhill, and other people’s mistakes and decisions can contribute towards further spiraling down. In the same way, someone doing well in education and at work can experience the upward spiral, which they would no doubt attribute to their own ability and “characteristics,” whereas the reality is that the more they move upwards, the more likely it is that people will be nice to them, giving them things, access to more resources, and better jobs.
How do people find meaning in life after such adversity, not to mention fulfillment and the chance to contribute to society, especially when their experiences are of the kind many would rather not hear about, or their circumstances don’t appear to be worthwhile trying to improve? Fewer choices and options to reinvent one’s life, as well as limited resources and being on the wrong side of fifty can make it far more difficult than it would be for others.
The article by Tara Brabazon discusses far more than this, but my focus has been only on the one item. See the article, and many insightful comments on the THE page.
Doctoring the system
By Tara Brabazon
THE (Times Higher Education) UK
Oct 22, 2009
http://www.timeshighereducation.co.uk/story.asp?storycode=408733
19 September 2009
Lust: one of the seven deadly sins of the academy
Revised, and links updated May, 2012
The seven deadly sins, which are the subject of this article (The seven deadly sins, 2009) about campuses in the UK, are sartorial inelegance, procrastination, snobbery, lust, arrogance, complacency, and pedantry. THE is the Higher Education supplement for the British newspaper, The Times. The article, especially the section on lust which was written by Terence Kealey, Vice-chancellor of Buckingham University, has attracted a great deal of attention in the UK, and even beyond its borders. See some articles listed below. Kealey also wrote a response to the criticism in the Times Higher (see Terence Kealey: a response, 2009).
Although the original article (The seven deadly sins, 2009) was meant to be humourous -satirical, actually – not everyone saw it as a laughing matter, myself included. The comments following the THE articles, are an indication of how sensitive and demanding the topic of lust is in universities.
It's debatable just how light-hearted the article really is - humourous satire, or serious matters for the academy to think about? From the attention it has received in the British Press, one has to wonder where this will lead.
Two other articles on closely related subject matter that have been published in the Times Higher are ‘Sex and the University’ (2008), and ‘Sex for grades in Africa's academy’ (2010) to which I responded in ‘Sex for grades in universities,’ 2010.
For Canadian input into this subject – of lust, not humour – see the Globe and Mail’s ‘On-campus sex ban: Hands off,’ 2010).
Some of the articles have numerous comments, and I don’t see that there’s anything I can add here without turning to personal experience, so I will just leave it at that.
Buckingham University vice-chancellor defends remarks over female students
By Adam Gabbatt
guardian.co.uk
Sept 23, 2009
http://www.guardian.co.uk/education/2009/sep/23/university-female-students-perk
Curvey females safe for viewing, writes professor
By Husayn Marani
Western Gazette, formerly UWO Gazette
Sept 29, 2009
http://www.uwogazette.ca/2009/09/29/news-briefs-9/
http://issuu.com/uwogazette/docs/03.016_tuesday__september_29__2009
Curvy students 'perk of the job'
By Katherine Sellgren
BBC News education reporter
Sept 23, 2009
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/education/8270475.stm
On-campus sex ban: Hands off the student body, Prof
+ 256 comments
By Dakshana Bascaramurty
Globe and Mail
Apr 08, 2010
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/life/on-campus-sex-ban-hands-off-the-student-body-prof/article1528269/
Senior academic calls female students 'a perk of the job'
By Alison Kershaw, Press Association
Independent
Sept 23, 2009
http://www.independent.co.uk/news/education/education-news/senior-academic-calls-female-students-a-perk-of-the-job-1791904.html
The seven deadly sins of the academy
By Matthew Reisz
THE (Times Higher Education)
Sept 17, 2009
http://www.timeshighereducation.co.uk/story.asp?storycode=408135
Sex and the university
By Hannah Fearn
THE (Times Higher Education)
May 22, 2008
http://www.timeshighereducation.co.uk/story.asp?storycode=401935&encCode=986570951BC54097875JTBS737226611
Sex for grades in Africa's academy
By John Morgan
THE (Times Higher Education)
Jan 21, 2010
http://www.timeshighereducation.co.uk/story.asp?storycode=410068
Sex for grades in universities
By Sue McPherson
Sue’s Views on the News
Jan 22, 2010
http://suemcpherson.blogspot.ca/2010/01/sex-for-grades-in-universities.html
Terence Kealey: a response to criticism
By Terence Kealey
THE (Times Higher Education)
Sept 23, 2009
http://www.timeshighereducation.co.uk/story.asp?storycode=408404
The seven deadly sins, which are the subject of this article (The seven deadly sins, 2009) about campuses in the UK, are sartorial inelegance, procrastination, snobbery, lust, arrogance, complacency, and pedantry. THE is the Higher Education supplement for the British newspaper, The Times. The article, especially the section on lust which was written by Terence Kealey, Vice-chancellor of Buckingham University, has attracted a great deal of attention in the UK, and even beyond its borders. See some articles listed below. Kealey also wrote a response to the criticism in the Times Higher (see Terence Kealey: a response, 2009).
Although the original article (The seven deadly sins, 2009) was meant to be humourous -satirical, actually – not everyone saw it as a laughing matter, myself included. The comments following the THE articles, are an indication of how sensitive and demanding the topic of lust is in universities.
It's debatable just how light-hearted the article really is - humourous satire, or serious matters for the academy to think about? From the attention it has received in the British Press, one has to wonder where this will lead.
Two other articles on closely related subject matter that have been published in the Times Higher are ‘Sex and the University’ (2008), and ‘Sex for grades in Africa's academy’ (2010) to which I responded in ‘Sex for grades in universities,’ 2010.
For Canadian input into this subject – of lust, not humour – see the Globe and Mail’s ‘On-campus sex ban: Hands off,’ 2010).
Some of the articles have numerous comments, and I don’t see that there’s anything I can add here without turning to personal experience, so I will just leave it at that.
Buckingham University vice-chancellor defends remarks over female students
By Adam Gabbatt
guardian.co.uk
Sept 23, 2009
http://www.guardian.co.uk/education/2009/sep/23/university-female-students-perk
Curvey females safe for viewing, writes professor
By Husayn Marani
Western Gazette, formerly UWO Gazette
Sept 29, 2009
http://www.uwogazette.ca/2009/09/29/news-briefs-9/
http://issuu.com/uwogazette/docs/03.016_tuesday__september_29__2009
Curvy students 'perk of the job'
By Katherine Sellgren
BBC News education reporter
Sept 23, 2009
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/education/8270475.stm
On-campus sex ban: Hands off the student body, Prof
+ 256 comments
By Dakshana Bascaramurty
Globe and Mail
Apr 08, 2010
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/life/on-campus-sex-ban-hands-off-the-student-body-prof/article1528269/
Senior academic calls female students 'a perk of the job'
By Alison Kershaw, Press Association
Independent
Sept 23, 2009
http://www.independent.co.uk/news/education/education-news/senior-academic-calls-female-students-a-perk-of-the-job-1791904.html
The seven deadly sins of the academy
By Matthew Reisz
THE (Times Higher Education)
Sept 17, 2009
http://www.timeshighereducation.co.uk/story.asp?storycode=408135
Sex and the university
By Hannah Fearn
THE (Times Higher Education)
May 22, 2008
http://www.timeshighereducation.co.uk/story.asp?storycode=401935&encCode=986570951BC54097875JTBS737226611
Sex for grades in Africa's academy
By John Morgan
THE (Times Higher Education)
Jan 21, 2010
http://www.timeshighereducation.co.uk/story.asp?storycode=410068
Sex for grades in universities
By Sue McPherson
Sue’s Views on the News
Jan 22, 2010
http://suemcpherson.blogspot.ca/2010/01/sex-for-grades-in-universities.html
Terence Kealey: a response to criticism
By Terence Kealey
THE (Times Higher Education)
Sept 23, 2009
http://www.timeshighereducation.co.uk/story.asp?storycode=408404
10 September 2009
Michael Bryant and Darcy Sheppard: divided by class
revised, and references updated, May 2012
The tragic death of Darcy Sheppard, involved in a violent incident with ex-
attorney general Michael Bryant, isn't a morality play, though I think I understand how Margaret Wente might want to see it portrayed as such. It is very class-based logic to see the event as a "cautionary tale for public figures," as though the tragedy could somehow have been avoided, and worse yet, what the consequences can be for important or wealthy people getting mixed up with those other kind of people in society.
To begin with, Michael Bryant didn't just change into a "clean suit," after the accident, before he went to the police station (see Morality play, 2009). He changed out of the t-shirt he had been wearing into the shirt and tie with suit, before being taken to the police station. This is a minor issue, but an example of the ways Wente distorts language and its significance for the public. Bryant may have wanted to change into clean clothes, but the suit was for impression management, not for spending a comfortable night in jail.
Even Jackie Kennedy didn’t change out of her bloodstained suit before getting into the airplane with her husband’s body – John F Kennedy, following his assassination on November 22, 1963, nor on board the plane (Jackie Kennedy’s Pink Suit, 2011.) It’s a matter of priorities, and one has to wonder what Bryant’s really were. Fight or flight. Keep it close; remember; or push it away. Naturally, Jackie wasn’t completely immune to the fight or flight syndrome. Her immediate reaction on having her husband shot while seated beside her in the car was to clamber over the back seat of the convertible, a momentary lapse in good judgement.
When Darcy Sheppard talked back to the driver of the car that had bumped into his bike, it wasn’t to someone wearing a suit, thus more likely to be viewed as someone middle class. Bryant was wearing a t-shirt like any other ordinary person on the street at the time of the accident. So who should take care to avoid the other. Should it be the affluent middle class couple who should be more wary of getting into difficulty and getting blamed for it, or would it be more realistic to advise the person lacking the resources to fight injustice to be more careful to avoid people who show signs of having wealth and prestige. And did Darcy Sheppard realize the danger he was in?
On Sept 1, 2009, Bryant was charged with criminal negligence causing death and dangerous operation of a motor vehicle causing death. Witnesses, including Raajiv Rajadurai and Ryan Brazeau provided details of the street interaction between Bryant and Sheppard (Bryant charged, Sept, 2009; Death on Bloor, Dec, 2009).
The charges were withdrawn with no preliminary hearing taking place, a decision that was explained by special prosecutor Richard Peck, who stated in court, “The evidence establishes that Mr. Sheppard was the aggressor in the altercation with Mr. Bryant. He was agitated and angry, without any provocation from Mr. Bryant and his wife,” (Former Ontario AG, May, 2010).
Bryant himself is quoted as saying, “It is not a morality play about bikes versus cars, couriers versus drivers, or one about class, privilege or politics. It’s just about how in 28 seconds, everything can change” (Former Ontario AG, May, 2010). But if we remove the words “a morality play” from this sentence – Bryant’s claim – it really is about bikes versus cars, and about class, privilege and politics.
Set aside the morality problem for now. Think about what happened, and the consequences. Bryant may have been surprised – no, astounded, to see how quickly a person’s life can change, can go from a normal day out to violence, death, accusations, and practically every aspect of their life being changed forever. He says that. He has now experienced adversity, that emotionless term that is applied to such situations.
From the outside, looking at someone who is angry might appear the same as looking at someone who is experiencing fear. Without Bryant’s explanation, the behaviour could be interpreted as anger against the cyclist who got in his way, and not terror at being accosted by him and not being able to get him off his car (see Former Ontario AG Michael Bryant, May, 2009).
In an article just a few months prior to the incident, Bryant talks about his love of boxing, and his skill in the ring (Contender, Jan, 2009, as noted by a commenter on ‘Cyclist may have grabbed,’ 2009). Is this the same man who was terrified of the cyclist, Darcy Sheppard? Was it Sheppard that Bryant feared or the situation, knowing that being involved in an altercation with a cyclist wouldn’t be good for his reputation – or his career? Are we permitted to use emotions such as fear – or love - as reasons for behaviour that we wouldn’t ordinarily engage in? When you see your life disappearing right in front of your eyes, it can be traumatic. Realizing in one split second that all he things you dreamed about and hoped for are at risk, and may never come about, can have a dramatic effect on a person’s ability to respond appropriately to the situation.
On the effects of the incident to Michael Bryant and his career, a friend is reported as saying,
“An acquittal will remove the possibility of jail, but not the stain of his stupidity. He’ll forever be known, fairly or not, as the guy whose political career ended one fateful August night on Bloor St.” (Is Michael Bryant’s life, 2009).
First, the assumption that Bryant might be acquitted is irrelevant, speaking in hindsight. Secondly, I question whether this can be put down to stupidity, which implies rationality - rational decision-making, though poorly thought out in the moment. This is more about the emotions – a gut response in the midst of the initial altercation. And finally, it’s not written in stone that he will not be allowed to make a political comeback. See this comparison with a similar incident involving another Toronto bike messenger, Thomas McBride, in 1999 (Michael Bryant: Toronto’s Carnell Fitzpatrick, 2009).
PR expert Jonathan Bernstein knows the importance of charisma in making a comeback – as demonstrated by Bill Clinton, along with other more intentional means of influencing opinion and repairing reputation damage (The long road to reputation, 2009). Social media is another aspect of that (see Michael Bryant's political strategy, 2009). For a day-by day-account of the first week, see Spinning the first week, 2009.
Bryant is currently listed as owner and operator of Humilitus Group, and as a visiting professor at Osgoode Law School (Michael Bryant leaves Norton, 2012.) He now speaks on his experience and how it has transformed him (Michael Bryant: Former Attorney General, since 2010).
See more on BlogTO on the city’s reaction after the charges against Bryant were dropped, including photos and comments by readers (Michael Bryant walks, 2010).
Bryant charged with criminal negligence after crash
ctvtoronto.ca
Sept 1, 2009
http://www.ctv.ca:80/servlet/ArticleNews/story/CTVNews/20090901/fatal_collision_090901/20090901?hub=TopStories\
The contender
By Amanda Lang
Globe and Mail
Jan. 26, 2009, updated Apr 09, 2009
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/report-on-business/article967360.ece
http://samcpherson.homestead.com/files/Miscellaneous/2009_Jan_TheContender.doc
Cyclist may have grabbed Bryant, wheel: police
+ 1020 comments
CBC News
Sept 2, 2009
http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/toronto/story/2009/09/02/toronto-bryant-cyclist-sheppard523.html
Death on Bloor: Bryant enters a world beyond political spin
By Josh Wingrove, Timothy Appleby and Kate Hammer
Globe and Mail
Dec 16, 2009
http://www.yasni.com/ext.php?url=http%3A%2F%2Fm.theglobeandmail.com%2Fnews%2Fnational%2Fdeath-on-bloor-bryant-enters-a-world-beyond-political-spin%2Farticle1272875%2F%3Fservice%3Dmobile%26page%3D1&name=Annette+Wabie&cat=filter&showads=1
Former Ontario AG Michael Bryant was ‘terrified’ during fatal encounter with cyclist
By Shannon Kari
National Post
May 25, 2010
http://news.nationalpost.com/2010/05/25/criminal-charges-against-former-ag-michael-bryant-withdrawn/
Is Michael Bryant’s life over – or has it just begun?
By Lynda Hurst
Toronto Star, reprinted for The Record.com
Sept 5, 2009
http://www.thestar.com/news/insight/article/690718--is-michael-bryant-s-life-over-or-has-it-just-begun
http://www.myartworks.ca/printArticle/593478
Jackie Kennedy’s Pink Suit
By Lisa Waller Rogers
Lisa's History room
Feb 12, 2011
http://lisawallerrogers.wordpress.com/2011/02/12/jackie-kennedys-pink-suit/
The long road to reputation repair
By Simon Houpt
Globe and Mail -Globe Investor
Sept 03, 2009
http://www.globeinvestor.com/servlet/story/RTGAM.20090903.wadhoc0904/GIStory/undefined
Michael Bryant: Former Attorney General and Author of 28 Seconds
Speakers' spotlight
since 2010
http://www.speakers.ca/bryant_michael.html
Michael Bryant leaves Norton Rose
Globe and Mail
Feb 14, 2012, updated Mar. 13, 2012
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/report-on-business/industry-news/the-law-page/bar-talk/michael-bryant-leaves-norton-rose/article2338612/
Michael Bryant's political strategy: PR 2.0
+ 484 comments
By Kate Hammer
Globe and Mail
Sept 8/14, 2009
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/national/michael-bryants-political-strategy-pr-20/article1279957/
Michael Bryant: Toronto’s Carnell Fitzpatrick
Mess Media, Bryant Watch
Nov 19, 2009
http://bryantwatch.wordpress.com/2009/11/19/michael-bryant-toronto%E2%80%99s-carnell-fitzpatrick/
Michael Bryant walks, the cycling community rides, and a bad taste lingers
+ comments
By Derek Flack
BlogTO.com
May 26, 2010
http://www.blogto.com/city/2010/05/michael_bryant_walks_the_cycling_community_rides_and_a_bad_taste_lingers/
Morality play and a stampede to judgment
By Margaret Wente
No comments permitted
Globe and Mail
Sept 9/ Oct 3, 2009
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/opinions/morality-play-and-a-stampede-to-judgment/article1281262/
Spinning the first week of Michael Bryant's new life
By Linda Diebel
TO Star
Sept 5, 2009
http://www.thestar.com/News/GTA/article/691400
The tragic death of Darcy Sheppard, involved in a violent incident with ex-
attorney general Michael Bryant, isn't a morality play, though I think I understand how Margaret Wente might want to see it portrayed as such. It is very class-based logic to see the event as a "cautionary tale for public figures," as though the tragedy could somehow have been avoided, and worse yet, what the consequences can be for important or wealthy people getting mixed up with those other kind of people in society.
To begin with, Michael Bryant didn't just change into a "clean suit," after the accident, before he went to the police station (see Morality play, 2009). He changed out of the t-shirt he had been wearing into the shirt and tie with suit, before being taken to the police station. This is a minor issue, but an example of the ways Wente distorts language and its significance for the public. Bryant may have wanted to change into clean clothes, but the suit was for impression management, not for spending a comfortable night in jail.
Even Jackie Kennedy didn’t change out of her bloodstained suit before getting into the airplane with her husband’s body – John F Kennedy, following his assassination on November 22, 1963, nor on board the plane (Jackie Kennedy’s Pink Suit, 2011.) It’s a matter of priorities, and one has to wonder what Bryant’s really were. Fight or flight. Keep it close; remember; or push it away. Naturally, Jackie wasn’t completely immune to the fight or flight syndrome. Her immediate reaction on having her husband shot while seated beside her in the car was to clamber over the back seat of the convertible, a momentary lapse in good judgement.
When Darcy Sheppard talked back to the driver of the car that had bumped into his bike, it wasn’t to someone wearing a suit, thus more likely to be viewed as someone middle class. Bryant was wearing a t-shirt like any other ordinary person on the street at the time of the accident. So who should take care to avoid the other. Should it be the affluent middle class couple who should be more wary of getting into difficulty and getting blamed for it, or would it be more realistic to advise the person lacking the resources to fight injustice to be more careful to avoid people who show signs of having wealth and prestige. And did Darcy Sheppard realize the danger he was in?
On Sept 1, 2009, Bryant was charged with criminal negligence causing death and dangerous operation of a motor vehicle causing death. Witnesses, including Raajiv Rajadurai and Ryan Brazeau provided details of the street interaction between Bryant and Sheppard (Bryant charged, Sept, 2009; Death on Bloor, Dec, 2009).
The charges were withdrawn with no preliminary hearing taking place, a decision that was explained by special prosecutor Richard Peck, who stated in court, “The evidence establishes that Mr. Sheppard was the aggressor in the altercation with Mr. Bryant. He was agitated and angry, without any provocation from Mr. Bryant and his wife,” (Former Ontario AG, May, 2010).
Bryant himself is quoted as saying, “It is not a morality play about bikes versus cars, couriers versus drivers, or one about class, privilege or politics. It’s just about how in 28 seconds, everything can change” (Former Ontario AG, May, 2010). But if we remove the words “a morality play” from this sentence – Bryant’s claim – it really is about bikes versus cars, and about class, privilege and politics.
Set aside the morality problem for now. Think about what happened, and the consequences. Bryant may have been surprised – no, astounded, to see how quickly a person’s life can change, can go from a normal day out to violence, death, accusations, and practically every aspect of their life being changed forever. He says that. He has now experienced adversity, that emotionless term that is applied to such situations.
From the outside, looking at someone who is angry might appear the same as looking at someone who is experiencing fear. Without Bryant’s explanation, the behaviour could be interpreted as anger against the cyclist who got in his way, and not terror at being accosted by him and not being able to get him off his car (see Former Ontario AG Michael Bryant, May, 2009).
In an article just a few months prior to the incident, Bryant talks about his love of boxing, and his skill in the ring (Contender, Jan, 2009, as noted by a commenter on ‘Cyclist may have grabbed,’ 2009). Is this the same man who was terrified of the cyclist, Darcy Sheppard? Was it Sheppard that Bryant feared or the situation, knowing that being involved in an altercation with a cyclist wouldn’t be good for his reputation – or his career? Are we permitted to use emotions such as fear – or love - as reasons for behaviour that we wouldn’t ordinarily engage in? When you see your life disappearing right in front of your eyes, it can be traumatic. Realizing in one split second that all he things you dreamed about and hoped for are at risk, and may never come about, can have a dramatic effect on a person’s ability to respond appropriately to the situation.
On the effects of the incident to Michael Bryant and his career, a friend is reported as saying,
“An acquittal will remove the possibility of jail, but not the stain of his stupidity. He’ll forever be known, fairly or not, as the guy whose political career ended one fateful August night on Bloor St.” (Is Michael Bryant’s life, 2009).
First, the assumption that Bryant might be acquitted is irrelevant, speaking in hindsight. Secondly, I question whether this can be put down to stupidity, which implies rationality - rational decision-making, though poorly thought out in the moment. This is more about the emotions – a gut response in the midst of the initial altercation. And finally, it’s not written in stone that he will not be allowed to make a political comeback. See this comparison with a similar incident involving another Toronto bike messenger, Thomas McBride, in 1999 (Michael Bryant: Toronto’s Carnell Fitzpatrick, 2009).
PR expert Jonathan Bernstein knows the importance of charisma in making a comeback – as demonstrated by Bill Clinton, along with other more intentional means of influencing opinion and repairing reputation damage (The long road to reputation, 2009). Social media is another aspect of that (see Michael Bryant's political strategy, 2009). For a day-by day-account of the first week, see Spinning the first week, 2009.
Bryant is currently listed as owner and operator of Humilitus Group, and as a visiting professor at Osgoode Law School (Michael Bryant leaves Norton, 2012.) He now speaks on his experience and how it has transformed him (Michael Bryant: Former Attorney General, since 2010).
See more on BlogTO on the city’s reaction after the charges against Bryant were dropped, including photos and comments by readers (Michael Bryant walks, 2010).
Bryant charged with criminal negligence after crash
ctvtoronto.ca
Sept 1, 2009
http://www.ctv.ca:80/servlet/ArticleNews/story/CTVNews/20090901/fatal_collision_090901/20090901?hub=TopStories\
The contender
By Amanda Lang
Globe and Mail
Jan. 26, 2009, updated Apr 09, 2009
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/report-on-business/article967360.ece
http://samcpherson.homestead.com/files/Miscellaneous/2009_Jan_TheContender.doc
Cyclist may have grabbed Bryant, wheel: police
+ 1020 comments
CBC News
Sept 2, 2009
http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/toronto/story/2009/09/02/toronto-bryant-cyclist-sheppard523.html
Death on Bloor: Bryant enters a world beyond political spin
By Josh Wingrove, Timothy Appleby and Kate Hammer
Globe and Mail
Dec 16, 2009
http://www.yasni.com/ext.php?url=http%3A%2F%2Fm.theglobeandmail.com%2Fnews%2Fnational%2Fdeath-on-bloor-bryant-enters-a-world-beyond-political-spin%2Farticle1272875%2F%3Fservice%3Dmobile%26page%3D1&name=Annette+Wabie&cat=filter&showads=1
Former Ontario AG Michael Bryant was ‘terrified’ during fatal encounter with cyclist
By Shannon Kari
National Post
May 25, 2010
http://news.nationalpost.com/2010/05/25/criminal-charges-against-former-ag-michael-bryant-withdrawn/
Is Michael Bryant’s life over – or has it just begun?
By Lynda Hurst
Toronto Star, reprinted for The Record.com
Sept 5, 2009
http://www.thestar.com/news/insight/article/690718--is-michael-bryant-s-life-over-or-has-it-just-begun
http://www.myartworks.ca/printArticle/593478
Jackie Kennedy’s Pink Suit
By Lisa Waller Rogers
Lisa's History room
Feb 12, 2011
http://lisawallerrogers.wordpress.com/2011/02/12/jackie-kennedys-pink-suit/
The long road to reputation repair
By Simon Houpt
Globe and Mail -Globe Investor
Sept 03, 2009
http://www.globeinvestor.com/servlet/story/RTGAM.20090903.wadhoc0904/GIStory/undefined
Michael Bryant: Former Attorney General and Author of 28 Seconds
Speakers' spotlight
since 2010
http://www.speakers.ca/bryant_michael.html
Michael Bryant leaves Norton Rose
Globe and Mail
Feb 14, 2012, updated Mar. 13, 2012
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/report-on-business/industry-news/the-law-page/bar-talk/michael-bryant-leaves-norton-rose/article2338612/
Michael Bryant's political strategy: PR 2.0
+ 484 comments
By Kate Hammer
Globe and Mail
Sept 8/14, 2009
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/national/michael-bryants-political-strategy-pr-20/article1279957/
Michael Bryant: Toronto’s Carnell Fitzpatrick
Mess Media, Bryant Watch
Nov 19, 2009
http://bryantwatch.wordpress.com/2009/11/19/michael-bryant-toronto%E2%80%99s-carnell-fitzpatrick/
Michael Bryant walks, the cycling community rides, and a bad taste lingers
+ comments
By Derek Flack
BlogTO.com
May 26, 2010
http://www.blogto.com/city/2010/05/michael_bryant_walks_the_cycling_community_rides_and_a_bad_taste_lingers/
Morality play and a stampede to judgment
By Margaret Wente
No comments permitted
Globe and Mail
Sept 9/ Oct 3, 2009
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/opinions/morality-play-and-a-stampede-to-judgment/article1281262/
Spinning the first week of Michael Bryant's new life
By Linda Diebel
TO Star
Sept 5, 2009
http://www.thestar.com/News/GTA/article/691400
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)